History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Lisa Simpson and why reform isn't really reform
- 11-16-2010
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Blog by Kevin G. Welner/Washington Post
In an old episode of The Simpsons, Lisa mounts a campaign against a Barbie-like doll called “Malibu Stacy” that spouts sexist phrases such as, “Let's wear makeup so the boys will like us,” and “Math is hard.” Lisa appears to win over the other girls at the store with her solid arguments against the sexist doll, but then “new” Malibu Stacy dolls are brought out and the girls crowd around in excitement. The only thing new, however, is a new hat. Same doll – new hat. I’m reminded of that when I hear all the talk these days about school “reformers.” Their reforms seem oddly familiar. They want to close down schools and reopen them as charters. They want to bring in private managers. They want to use standardized tests of students to determine teacher quality. This is all “reform,” we’re told, because … ? Actually, I’m not sure why it qualifies as reform. The thinking, as best I can tell, is that if teachers unions oppose something, it gains the "reformy" embrace from media and politician types. To be fair, all these ideas probably did qualify as reform back when I started studying education in the mid-1990s. (more…)
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