My war with the education establishment

A recurring theme in my life over the last eight or so years has been how frequently I get painted, especially on social media, as an enemy of public schools.

Sometimes I can laugh it off. After 25 years of working mostly in direct or indirect service of public schools, if I have an agenda to destroy public education I must have an awfully odd - and ineffective - way of going about it. 

The truth is I am not an enemy of public education. But I am quite frequently at odds with the education establishment. In my latest essay for Chalkboard Review, I distinguish public school teachers - most of whom I admire very much - from the establishment: 

When I say I am at war with the education establishment, I’m not talking about ordinary classroom teachers or school principals. I’m talking about the cabal of teachers unions and professional associations representing administrators and school boards that constitute the most powerful lobby in our state capitol. The education establishment ferociously defends adult interests against changes that might benefit students, families, and even teachers themselves. This education establishment does not represent the voice of most teachers in Kentucky, although they try relentlessly to shape the opinions and mobilize the political influence of ordinary educators. Because I am for public schools, I must be against this establishment.

My commitments are not to the infrastructure of public education, but to students, their families, and to teachers themselves:

I did not become a teacher to defend the infrastructure of public education. My commitment is first to students and their families, especially families that are marginalized by poverty and lack the ability to vote with their feet if they are unsatisfied with their child’s education. 

My second commitment is to teachers themselves, who are often hamstrung in their effectiveness by the bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all, change-resistant structures of education. Teachers have much to gain by the flexibility and innovation they could enjoy in a rich school choice environment and with greater freedom to earn their credentials and advance their careers. 

These ordinary families and ordinary teachers don’t have a powerful, taxpayer-funded union or professional association to represent their needs in the state capitol. That’s why I dedicate my public policy efforts to them, rather than promoting or defending “public education” writ large.

Read the whole thing here.