Comments on: Reverting To Form? http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/07/reverting-to-form.html Education News, Analysis, and Commentary Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:21:57 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: john thompson http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/07/reverting-to-form.html/comment-page-1#comment-2735 john thompson Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:48:34 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3415#comment-2735 If we the Dems are going to permanently be the adults, as Barney Franks said, then the question really hits home for Ed Sector-type reformers as well as the Leftwingers who also continue to support NCLB. We don't you guys come home? If you can stand on the stage with Al Sharpton, then surely you can do the same with the NEA. If we could get 1/4th of Republicans without demonizing teachers and unions, then we'd have a majority for education, wouldn't we? I know I'm not going to change you on NCLB-type accountability, and visa versa, but think of all the "win win" solutions there are for poor school kids. If accountability hawks had engineered a great bipartisan "pivot," then who would have cared who was more right or more wrong on testing? The harm done by even the worst testing system would have been dwarfed by the benefit of creating a New Deal for the 21st century. If we the Dems are going to permanently be the adults, as Barney Franks said, then the question really hits home for Ed Sector-type reformers as well as the Leftwingers who also continue to support NCLB. We don’t you guys come home? If you can stand on the stage with Al Sharpton, then surely you can do the same with the NEA.

If we could get 1/4th of Republicans without demonizing teachers and unions, then we’d have a majority for education, wouldn’t we?

I know I’m not going to change you on NCLB-type accountability, and visa versa, but think of all the “win win” solutions there are for poor school kids.

If accountability hawks had engineered a great bipartisan “pivot,” then who would have cared who was more right or more wrong on testing? The harm done by even the worst testing system would have been dwarfed by the benefit of creating a New Deal for the 21st century.

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