Key questions begging for answers about school reform

Opponents of currently dominant education policies have a problem that proponents do not.  Proponents, supported by unlimited funds from several well-connected billionaires, have been able to influence local, state and national decision-makers with little open public debate even while many Americans oppose the current set of market-based ideas that are driving dramatic changes in education…. for most citizens, the controversy surrounding these reforms is not yet a dominant issue in their busy lives… If we are to successfully counter the anti-democratic privatization movement, we need to pursue three strategies.   First, educators and their unions need to seize the initiative so that we own the work of improving teaching, including establishing and embracing standards (not standardization) of effective professional practice. This work is beginning, but it is not well known. In their respective books, Professional Capital and Getting Teacher Evaluation Right, Michael Fullan and Linda Darling-Hammond chronicle this work and highlight what can be done to bring it to scale. Second, we need to pose clear values choices.  Third, to illuminate those choices we need to tell compelling stories that resonate with people across diverse audiences.  Published in the Washington Post, July 18, 2013: Read more here…Key questions begging for answers about school reform _ The Answer Sheet