I saw this blog post from Diane Ravitch with the title “Why Business Leaders Should Not Run Schools” and found it an interesting read.
Like most blog posts and blog links, I found the comments to be about as interesting as the blog itself.
While I tend to run conservative on most issues myself, I have never understood the preoccupation with trying to apply “free-market solutions” to education. I always viewed basic services like defense, education, highway systems, air traffic systems etc. to be a lot more stable and predictable for the nation’s overall security when there was more consistency. In the economic world I think the free market makes a lot of sense. When was the last time you heard someone argue that the monopoly on national defense should just be busted up and given over to the free market?
Now Mayor Bloomberg wants to grant tenure to teachers based on test scores and Arne Duncan wants the new ESEA to have “incentives” for test score improvement.
Sigh...twenty years from now we will get to the top and realize this ladder was leaning against the wrong wall!