Would a Republican Congress Be Good for School Reform?

That's the question asked in this Education Next piece, which correctly points out that the new pledge from the Congressional Republicans doesn't have the word "education" anywhere in it. Or "school". Or "teacher".

Put that piece side-by-side with this one, which ponders if education reform has jumped the shark. It seems like a dumb question given the zeitgeist--how many times did you hear about Waiting for Superman this week?--but at the same time you have Michelle Rhee getting thrown out on her ear in Washington D.C.

My own personal clock had education becoming a big issue leading into the midterm elections, so that the politicos could go home and campaign on it, but maybe in 2011. Or 2012. Or, maybe, never.

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Some Great Podcasts on Teacher’s Unions

I finally broke down and installed iTunes, despite my general animosity towards all things Macintosh, and I’m glad I took the leap because podcasts are neat things. I did a search for education-related shows, and I’ll try to highlight some of the best in the coming weeks.

A great one to start with is the Education Next show. They did three episodes in the summer of 2006 and then stopped, but those three shows are all well worth taking the time to download. Education Next did a special issue on the impact of teacher’s unionism in an issue around that time, and each one of the podcasts they’ve done touches on a different aspect of the union question. Consider:

*Terry Moe expands on this article to talk about the role that teacher’s unions play in elections. I think he overstates his point a bit—school board elections where the union is a major player are more the exception than the rule—but it’s still an interesting perspective.

*Linda Kaboolian of Harvard University, a co-author of Win-Win Labor Management Collaboration in Education, talks about how partnerships between districts and associations can help everyone involved. She’s dead wrong on the issue of teacher transfer, but it’s a perspective that’s out there that union leaders need to be aware of.

*Rick Hess, who’s the perfect interview, teams with Marty West to talk about why we need MORE teacher strikes. It’ll make you think.

I hope that the folks at Education Next have more planned, because this is a great show. It’s sort of a “Bill Moyer’s Journal” to accompany The Education Gadfly’s “To The Contrary” role.

(PBS metaphors always, always, work)

If you have any podcast recommendations, send them my way!

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