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
The media discovers there is a debate over educational reform!
- 04-12-2011
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Blog by Anthony Cody/Education Week
The New York Times posted a column this morning titled The Deadlocked Debate over Educational Reform. And last week the Times ran a story covering the dialogue I was able to provoke with representatives of the Department of Education regarding President Obama's critical remarks about testing. This latest column was a bit confusing. Just as soon as they have discovered that the debate exists, they wonder if a debate is even possible! Remember NBC's Education Nation last fall? The "supermen" of reform ruled the stage, and the leading experts were Bill Gates, Davis Guggenheim and Michelle Rhee. Teachers were given a town hall to vent, but critics of corporate-sponsored reform efforts were otherwise ignored. Watching that program you would not have thought there was a real debate under way - just a powerful movement which would soon sweep to victory. After all, we had some of richest men in the world in alliance with seemingly progressive non-profit enterprises, and the enthusiastic support of the US Department of Education, with a wallet stuffed with billions of taxpayer dollars to support their brand of reform. But now, six months later, where are we? (more...)
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