I’ve always been pretty indifferent to Michelle Rhee as an educational figure, but since it became clear that the 2010 mayoral race in DC was a referendum on her chancellorship, I’ve watched the resulting political and electoral dynamics with some interest. In case you missed it, the Washington Post ran a story on Monday reporting … Continue reading
After my very popular posts on education reform last week, I thought it worth mentioning Joel Klein’s op-ed from the Sunday Washington Post. Read it! Why? It’s useful (and relevant) for two reasons: 1) It provides a salutary check on the Palin-esque obsession with Michelle Rhee. Her supporters and opponents alike can’t talk education reform … Continue reading
First of all, let’s get a few things straight: I really, really, REALLY like Freddie DeBoer’s work. He writes eloquently about the ideas undergirding progressivism, which is pretty rare (in the blogosphere or on Capitol Hill). Concern about this is what pulled me to start writing outside of academia. Special note to trolls: The “Irresponsible … Continue reading
Apropos of a few recent posts, and Diane Ravitch’s “Videogate” problem, I’ve written my latest Huffington Post column on how education reform arguments need to move past idol-worshipping. Here’s a sample: And this is oh-so-very-nice to point out, and gosh, we oughta do something about it, except that that it’s really hard to discipline ourselves. … Continue reading
• I don’t have time for a long post, but…the New York Times is reporting that Michelle Rhee’s hired George Packer, the former Washington Teachers’ Union head she worked with while in DC, as a “senior fellow” at Students First. Say whatever else you want about her, but this is a canny move as far … Continue reading
Whitney Tilson sent out this speech (full text pasted below) from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and further screwed with my education policy instincts. As I’ve written before (also here), teachers unions’ general unwillingness to take education reform (especially tenure) seriously makes it difficult to discern how a true progressive should behave. On one hand, teachers need … Continue reading
I’m not going to make a habit of this, but I’m going to offer an endorsement a recommendation in the D.C. At-Large Councilmember race. Shoot, vote for whoever you like, but if you’re interested, I’m going to be backing Sekou Biddle. I’ll spare you a rehashing of his biography. It’s on the campaign site linked … Continue reading
A colleague and mentor teacher of mine from my years in Brooklyn once told me (after a particularly difficult argument with a student’s parent): “You can’t reason with unreasonable people.” (Now she blogs here about raising her very young child, which—I have a hunch—means lots of time with an unreasonable little person. She’s a great … Continue reading
…a continuation of today’s earlier post. I had forgotten this part…during the campaign, then-Candidate Gray asked the FBI to take a look at alleged vote-buying on the part of the Fenty campaign. Hilarious, since now the FBI is looking into multiple allegations of fraud on the part of the Gray campaign. Sanctimony cometh before a … Continue reading
OK. It might be a little premature, but I’ll go ahead and accept apologies from those of you out there who told me that Vincent Gray (now reportedly facing FBI investigation) would bring a new level of honesty and transparency and responsibility to D.C. politics (this was a shockingly common argument). My email address is … Continue reading
