Education Week September 22, 2010 Reaction

Since we talked about the possibility of responding to education week here on our blogs, I decided to go ahead and kick things off by doing so:
I have heard a lot of things recently about how ethnic studies courses in Arizona are trying to be wiped out by the state government, and an article in Willamette's Collegian was the first significant thing I had read about it.  This article was even more telling.  In a way it is not all that surprising as this is the same state that was trying to straight up build a fence from border to border in order to keep illegal aliens out.  I'm not saying that the two issues are one and the same, merely that both of these reflect a train of thought meant to keep the "other" out, and to maximize the "U.S. vs. them" mentality (I hope people catch that pun...).  Of the 2,900 students at the Magnet High School, almost half, (1,400) are taking the ethnic studies courses.  I will tell you this: my high school was that big, and if any of those classes are even mildly educational, its a good thing that that many students are interested and willing and excited to be taking them.  There is no way any class outside of underwater basket-weaving would get that many people interested at my school.  Give the people what they want!  Not only that but it definitely feels like Nazi Germany to be cutting off funds to a school for learning about other cultures.  People who agree with it might say "But they are fostering Anti-American feelings!" to which I will say "get over it. America has done some pretty hate-inspiring things"
Another article I reacted pretty strongly to was the article on the front page labeled "Rhee Reflective in Aftershock of DC Primary."  It talks for some time about how well Ms. Rhee and others have done turning things around for the Washington DC public school districts.  But, *GASP*, to her and other's surprise, her boss lost a primary because despite their good work, their public image isn't that impressive.  Who would have thought that education was more than just about teaching kids and trying to raise the bar.  It reminded me of our class discussion of whether or not we were going to fire or retain Mr. Smiley at the cost of funding, etc.  It is the case with any profession that if you don't "play the game" to a certain degree that you aren't going to get very far.  It's not that I'm saying that people shouldn't be zealous about education reform or that they shouldn't do what they think is right.  I'm just saying that they need to temper zealousness with realism, power with savvy and technique.  People, Ms. Rhee included, will find they'll get a lot farther towards accomplishing their goals than they would otherwise.  A tree that won't bend will surely break...