Public Education Matters
The HEART of the Matter
4.14.10
Today I received an email from the President of my state’s teacher’s union. In it it is explained that they have refused our State Superintendent of Public School’s request to get behind Indiana’s Fast Forward Plan to apply for the 2nd round of Race to the Top money. Included in the email was Dr. Bennett’s request to the ISTA and then the response. Respectively, I’ll post those links here. Bennett RttT request to ISTA.pdf and ISTA's response to Bennett request.pdf
As you can see if you read the links, the ISTA will NOT be throwing their support behind the Fast Forward/Race to the Top application. All I can say is “YIPPEE!!!”
I say this for two reasons. One I do not think the amount of Race to the Top money will be worth it and I do not like the whole Race to the Top program’s emphasis on competitiveness.
The second reason is that I do not at all support my state’s Fast Forward plan and I also do not believe the ISTA should give in to Dr. Bennett’s stipulations to the ISTA that go against both what is good for teachers and what is good for students.
Furthermore, Dr. Bennett is basically asking the ISTA to sign away to anything and everything the IDOE decides to do in the future. What person with even half a brain would sign a contract with anyone like this? For the ISTA to do so would be irresponsible on their part.
Now, the heart of the whole matter is not what I personally think. The heart of the matter is that Dr. Bennett and his Fast Forward Plan espouse almost everything that has been proven NOT to work in providing effective and successful education reform.
Don’t believe me? Then I ask you to read Diane Ravitch’s “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” In this book she provides arguments and documentation about some of the very programs that she formerly supported when she was a top player in George Bush’s education administration (the administration that brought us NCLB.) She is now renouncing all that. Furthermore, she is stating why she no longer supports the type of “reform” that does not revolve around teacher input and collaboration as Dr. Bennett's does not. She doesn’t just make statements, she provides substantiation and documentation of her current assertions.
The heart of the matter here also is that I believe my state capital’s leading newspaper (the Indianapolis Star) to be so partisan and so wrapped up in supporting every little thing that our Governor and Dr. Bennett spew out that I believe that the next thing that will happen will be a great deal of press coverage supporting Dr. Bennett and Mr. Daniels - suggesting that it is the fault of the teacher’s union that our state will not be applying for Race to the Top money (round 2.)
I’d like to put it out there right now that this is NOT at all true. I want to put it out there before all the "yes people" in the state's media try to tell you all otherwise. Yes, it’s true the ISTA will not be supporting the Fast Forward plan, but to dig a bit deeper- one should see WHY the association will not support it- because THAT is the HEART OF THE MATTER.
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