The persistence of housing discrimination and housing segregation makes it difficult at times to integrate schools. So what flows from that is disappointment and cynicism and the search for what's next. And it's really in the search for what's next after that that we come upon ideas like increasing standardized testing for kids and using those tests scores to hold teachers accountable.
Dana GoldsteinI always make the point that teachers are people too, and that they don't just want to be in front of kids all day and have children be their only feedback loop.
Dana GoldsteinI think a lot of people truly underestimate how much planning is involved in a teacher's work cycle.
Dana GoldsteinThe first generation of school reformers I talk about - nineteenth century education reformer Horace Mann, Catharine Beecher - they are true believers in their vision for public education. They have a missionary zeal. And this to me connects them a lot to folks today, whether it's education activist Campbell Brown or former D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. It's a righteous sense, a reform push that's driven by a strong belief in a particular set of solutions.
Dana Goldstein