Strange Bedfellows
By Mitch Berg
Pawlenty and Obama, together against the teachers’ unions?
Matt Abe writes:
The Pawlenty administration and education reform advocates are finding themselves supporting some of the significant aspects of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative, while many Democrats and the teachers unions, strong supporters of candidate Obama in 2008, oppose them, including:
- Alternative teacher licensure – allowing non-traditional candidates like mid-career professionals alternative paths to becoming licensed teachers
- Pay for performance – linking teacher pay to student performance, even more than Minnesota’s current, optional Q Comp program
Conservatives generally and the Pawlenty administration in particular have been advocating for these types of reforms since at least the late 1990s. From the nation’s first charter school laws to replacing the process-oriented Profile of Learning with knowledge-based academic standards, to Q Comp, Minnesota has often led the way in education reform, rather than let itself be dragged by Washington, D.C. educrats to improving its public school system.
I’m going to guess that if November goes badly, Obama will reverse course.
But right now? It’s a start.
April 9th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Looks like the NEA and AFT are not making required payments to the DNC…..
April 9th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
…finding themselves supporting some of the significant aspects of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative…
How about writing it the way it is really happening – The Obama administration is coming around to Conservative principles by calling for the firing of incompetent/ineffective teachers and educrats, going around the teachers union guild mentality that requires traditional licensure and linking pay for performance.
I think the Republicans would do well to re-write Reagans Brandenburg Gate speech, stand in front of the worst high school in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago or good old St. Paul and demand – “if you truly seek better educated children, Mr. Obama, tear down this Democratically controlled education system…”.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Seflores wins the thread. Forward this to the RNC and/or presidential candidate of yer choice.