Reblogged from A View From The Edge
Have you heard the swell news?
Depending on the outcome of this year’s presidential election, there’s a chance we may be promoted from the education kiddie table and get to sit with the grown-ups for a while.
No kidding!
At a speech this week at the National Education Association’s Annual Convention, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton says she’ll save us a seat at the table if she is elected President.
“If I am fortunate enough to be elected president, educators will have a partner in the White House, and you’ll always have a seat at the table,” she said. “I have this old-fashioned idea that when we are making decisions about education, we actually should listen to our educators.”
The mere fact that this statement made a ripple at all is evidence of just how far off track our nation has gotten relative to education reform.
Can you imagine Secretary Clinton issuing such a proclamation to a group of attorneys, physicians, or Wall Street financiers? Wouldn’t it be an absurd concept to craft medical reforms or new tax laws or commerce regulations without consulting with people who actually work in those occupations?
But the concept of including real teachers in the discussion of education policy draws oohs and aahs.
After being largely ignored for two decades, now we’re supposed to get excited about possibly getting a chance to sit with the big kids?
But, Rob, don’t you understand? There’s going to be a new table. A shinier table. And we are going to get a seat at it.
Big whoop.
Let me be clear, relative to the next four year’s of education policy, I’m not seeing any unicorns frolicking in fields of clover.