At some point in time, I think we have to start asking ourselves what is going on at the US Department of Education. Just this week, Secretary Duncan (and his PR people via twitter) said ""We have to stop lying to children," in reference to the levels of achievement students reach. And then he supported a school district’s decision to fire all its teachers at a high school. This is after he slammed teacher prep programs back in the fall.
(He did take time to praise a charter school organization recently, though.)
So what is the end game?
What is the point of attacking educators as liars, praising leaders who fire entire faculties and calling into question the way we teach teachers?
Can you imagine if another cabinet member did this? Could you imagine if the Secretary of Defense talked this way about the soldiers?
What is the point?
There’s only one reason to erode public trust in public education — to destroy it.
Seriously.
It was the the "we have to stop lying to children" line. Not "we need to do better." Not "we need to find better ways." Not "we need to change."
"We need to stop lying to children."
Think about that… Duncan is claiming that public educators are deliberately lying to children.
You only do that if you want to tear something down.
I think the Race to the Top push to expand charter law is only a first step. I think we’re going to see a federal push for vouchers before the end of the Obama administration.
And lest you think I’ve got the tin-foil hat on, the email blast from EdWeek had as its lead a story about how Florida is expanding its voucher program and that Illinois and New Jersey may be soon to follow suit with more and more bi-partisan support for vouchers. (The article claims that Obama will not expand the DC voucher program, but we’ll see.)
What I worry will happen over the next ten years, unless there’s a movement to stop it, will be a federal push for state voucher programs followed by a massive explosion of publicly subsidized private and parochial schools where parents will be able to supplement the public voucher with their own monies. I think there will still be a "public option" for families, but they will probably be more underfunded and needy than ever before. There will always be a need for schools for the kids who can’t take advantage of the new market-driven system, but in many places — especially in our cities — they will become the schools of last resort.
There is a lot of money and power lining up behind voucher programs, and make no mistake, vouchers will mark the end of public schools as the hallmark of the American democratic experiment.
And here’s the thing… if this is what Obama and Duncan want, why aren’t they saying so?
If we want something different, we are going to need to fight for what we believe in. We cannot expect the usual allies. We are going to have to retake the language of school reform from those who would tear down our work. We are going to have to partner with students and parents. We are going to have to listen deeply and create a new language of reform that is authentic… one that puts the best of what our schools can be at the front of every message.
We are going to have to lead.
I’ll be there. Will you?
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