Contest: What should we call the Schnur-like “reformers”?

October 30, 2008

Contest: What should we call the Schnur-like “reformers”?

by Elizabeth Green, at 1:44 pm

While I’m on the Jon Schnur-Obama education wars subject, let me raise a problem that I have when writing about said wars: How should I describe each side?

In an earlier post, I referred to the Schnur/Eduwonk/Joel Klein nexus (axis?) as the “reform-minded” camp. In doing so I used a label the group calls itself, but also violated a principle I was taught at the New York Sun about the importance of precise language. I was rightly chastised by Leonie Haimson, who pointed out in the comments section that almost everyone involved in the education debate would like to see “reform”; the question is what kind.

A similar problem was raised by Richard Whitmire of USA Today in August, who was following up on Jay Mathews of the Washington Post. Their concern was what to call a group of “elite” inner-city schools whose students score better on tests than students nearby neighborhood schools. Ultimately the contest ended unsatisfactorily, and Whitmire posted my e-mail to him explaining why the contest was so hard:

“I think the difficulty of the contest is a symptom of a bigger problem. Aren’t these schools a part of a movement without a name? My editor banned me from ever letting the word “reform” follow the word “education” and I am glad for the lesson in precision, but I have never found a good substitute. The Wendy Kopp movement. The Teach For America alumni club. The people-likely-to-say-”relentless”-twice-in-one-sentence movement. HBS Grads for Change. Education warriors. Joel Klein, Paul Vallas et al.

The best description I’ve read was David Brooks’, “the thoroughly modern do-gooders”.

Anyway, my submission is the cop-out that maybe we first must solve that naming dilemma, and then get to the schools.

So, let’s solve this dilemma! Send ideas to me at egreen@gothamschools.org, and I’ll update on our progress as time goes by.

Smith

“teacher-bashers”?
Andy Wolf

Schnurers?

“Shnorer” is a Yiddish word that means moocher or professional beggar. Sounds right for an educational “reformer” hawking this brand of snake oil.
GP

LLCHS (no, not leeches) Limousine Liberals Changing Schools
Sarah Reckhow

I think a key aspect of the Klein, etc. approach is a negative view of politics. There’s a nice summary of this at the end of Clay Risen’s Atlantic article on Michelle Rhee. For Rhee, Klein, and supporters, city politics must be avoided. The phrase “we know best” comes to mind. Another way to think about it… Does a crisis in urban education justify curbing democracy and deliberation? I think different “reformers” would answer this quite differently.
Ellen McHugh

Up until the 1980′s there was a bakery on E. 86 Street in the old Yorktown/Germantown neighborhood. It was called the Kleine Kondeteri and they created light as air german confections. Maybe we should call them Klein and Co Bakery…light and airy, with the substance of a cloud.
Or we could call the company Eine Kleine Nachteducation…tugs at the strings of your heart?
Dana

edu-wanks
http://www.classsizematters.org Leonie Haimson

NCLB on steroids

“Trickle-down” education

“creative destruction” theory of improvement

The other side: education reform from the ground up.
Gabe

People who think that hard driving reform is only helping a few, is only the work of the elite, or is teacher bashing are just plain misinformed. Not every correct answer on how to “fix” education may come from above, but to trust that it can only come from the ground level is to entrust it’s future to those who have failed it, collectively, not individually. Individual teachers efforts are by in large incredible.

Many previously under-served kids are now getting great educations, many teachers are getting paid MORE than they were at the UFT and finding their work more pleasant and fulfilling, just go and ask them…this progress should encourage sharing of knowledge and practices, not make the education establishment defensive.

A simple line might to draw might be “input based” and “output based.” To say that schools will be successful, if they are controlled from the ground up implies that the input is more important than the output, achievement. Seems like the groups could be termed the “show-me’s” the and the “trust me’s” in relation to how they feel about student achievement results. Simply put, the proof is in the pudding.
Eric Yendall

Teaching is a trade not a profession. Superior teachers are such from a combination of personality, natural talent, and practise. College degrees and teacher training are largely irrelevant, or at least very poor predictors of success. Teachers associations are trade unions and are more concerned with benefits to their members, including job security, than in improving teaching and educational results. “Education Reform” is up against a classic labour-management struggle. True reform is not about curriculum change, testing, more funding, or smaller class sizes, although these are all elements of a comprehensive solution, but about recruiting, on-the-job training, assessing, and rewarding successful teachers; and about firing unsuccessful teachers. I would be more impressed with teachers associations if they were to insist on the firing of 10% of their members each year. Teachers know who their incompetent colleagues are. What are they doing about it? The educational system needs thorough and urgent “Structural Reform” to redress the balance of power in favour of parents and their accountable agents, the school administrators. So I offer the term “Structural” to append to the Rhee/Klein reformers.
Pogue

I’d be right with you, Eric, my boy, if your same rule was applied to politicians, doctors, lawyers, bankers, and CEO’s. Surely, you could not, and should not, target teachers only. Let’s be fair and liberal with this.
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-bloomberg-third-term-will-mean-for.html Patrick J. Sullivan

Klein, Duncan, Schnur, Broad, Gates, Gerstner, Rotherham, Carey, Bloomberg, Canada, etc. etc.

With one notable exception, Rhee, they’re all guys. And they are all completely enamored of what you can do with all the data that comes spewing out of children and teachers bludgeoned with endless fill-in-the-bubble tests.

I say call them the “bubble boys”.

Our Twitter Updates

Public comment period ends. Moving much faster than what was expected. Most protesters didn't speak and UFT got here too late to sign up. 44 mins ago
Update: they're back in now and there is a.considerable police presence near the stage. Crowd has thinned considerably #warofattrition 53 mins ago
An activist just drew gasps from his fellow protesters. ”I hope your kids get their asses kicked by all the kids here” he tells the panel. 1 hr ago
NYPD has closed auditorium doors. Students protesting in lobby are now locked out of the meeting. 1 hr ago
... & a mom says the city transferred her son from KAPPA VII, which is staying open, to ABCD, which could close, after he was bullied. 2 hrs ago
More updates...

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jan
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29

GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

October 30, 2008

Contest: What should we call the Schnur-like “reformers”?

Tips, questions, feedback?

Follow GothamSchools

Feb. 10: You’re invited!

Recently Posted Jobs

Chalk It Up

Recent Comments

Events Calendar

RSS Feeds

Our Twitter Updates

Archives

Copyright Notice