Education reform is in a bad place right now, but the conditions that justify it are as strong as ever. Constantly under attack by people who want us to believe public schools are not failing (or, if they are, its through no fault of their own), reformers rarely pierce that bubble with the cold facts. Even when we do we are subject to a legion of system defenders with goal: to take us out.
I’ve encountered a few personas in education advocacy that do more to set us further back than to advance ideas that will change the game for poor students, and I think it’s worth sharing.
But first, a little context…