Obama is critical of his own education policies which means he probably didn't fully support them to begin with. This offers a look into how policy is formed.
education is not interchangeable with business. Education is not a business. It is supposed to provide good education to all children, not to segment its market and compete with others in the marketplace. It operates on the principle of equality of educational opportunity, not a race to see who can sell the most or win the biggest market share and beat out the others.
Schwartz makes a very VALUED POINT! When will stop debating and really address the issue at HAND. The future of our children are at STAKE here!!
He makes 5 points:
1. Stop talking and writing
2. Read and listen to opposing and alternative viewpoints from diverse groups of stakeholders including teachers, students, parents, communities other than your own, union leaders, business leaders, administrators, superintendents, et. al.
3. Process it all in continued silence. This is not about writing comments to a blog post or releasing a study to counter what that other study you read found or even a quick retort with your rehearsed line. Really take it in and think about where it fits within your framework for what it's going to take to help our teachers help our students.
4. Think about how your experiences as a student and perhaps your experiences as a parent of a student have shaped and even biased your views on what our schools need.
5. Resume your writing and speaking being mindful to take time-outs to listen and think.