What does a potato sack race, an egg on a spoon race, the Daytona Five Hundred, and Race to the Top all have in common? I'll tell you what... Lots, and lots and lots of losers.
If you're not familiar with the Obama Administration's Race to the Top program, I hope this blog will serve as an introduction to what it is and how it's developing.
The Race to the Top was created to "expand educational opportunities" as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In general, the goal of Race to the Top is to ambitiously reform public education. The The US Department of Education has developed a set of national standards that it hopes all 50 states will adopt and develop assessments for as they compete to win millions in funding.
All states have to do is this:
States competing for Race to the Top funds were asked to document past education reform successes, as well as outline plans to: extend reforms using college and career-ready standards and assessments; build a workforce of highly effective educators; create educational data systems to support student achievement; and turn around their lowest-performing schools.
It all sounds pretty hunky dory to me. Why wouldn't they want to win that money? Delaware has already won $100 million and Tennessee, Tennessee... Tennessee!
Sorry, that's my ADHD kicking in. Tennessee won $500 million!! Sounds like a great way to get much needed funding.
Sorry, that's my ADHD kicking in. Tennessee won $500 million!! Sounds like a great way to get much needed funding.
Nice work Delaware. Good job Tennessee!
As for the rest of you... Alabama! Arizona! Arkansas! California! Colorado! Connecticut! Washington D.C.! Florida! Georgia! Hawaii! Idaho! Illinois! Indiana! Iowa! Kansas! Kentucky! Louisiana! Massachusetts! Michigan! Minnesota! Missouri! Nebraska! New Hampshire! New Jersey! New Mexico! New York! North Carolina! Ohio! Oklahoma! Oregon! Pennsylvania! Rhode Island! South Dakota! Utah! Virginia! West Virginia! Wisconsin! and Wyoming! That's a lot of... well, I'll just say that all these states remind me of these guys:
From this post it seems that you are critical of of President Obama's education program, and I have to agree with you. It seems to me that politician, no matter what side of the political spectrum they come from struggle to understand what our education systems really need to be successful. It might be that the political cycle is just to short to create real reforms (it will take more than 4 years to fix our schools). OR maybe politicians just don't spend the time and effort it would take to really understand and solve the issues that our education system faces. Ultimately I wish that we could somehow de-politicize our efforts to build a better education system, but that is probably wishful thinking.
ReplyDeleteP.S. for a truly fascinating (albeit fictional) look at the politics of public education check out season 4 of the acclaimed TV drama, The Wire.
Thank you for this information! I had not heard about this program and feel that it will become very important in the future of education. I guess what I don't understand is how they are deciding what states get what portions of the funds? Who is making these decisions? It all seems pretty arbitrary to me. Like Carlos also mentioned, I feel that politicians are always so out of touch with the reality and needs of our educational system. I feel like politicians should stay out of education but I don't know how this would work in reality.
ReplyDeleteHey Carlos, thanks for the feedback, The Wire is an excellent show. While it is "fictional," it's hard to argue that those are not the realities that face urban schools today. I've seen and had to deal with some of the same scenarios that Prez and Bunny encounter. I was totally amazed by how well the show nailed some things.
ReplyDeleteKelly, those are good questions, and I'll try to shed some light on them in my next post!
Cheers
A very interesting way to look at Race to The Top. California was a loser and didn't make it in the first round. We just made the list of finalists in the second round though. The impact of this initiative is yet to be seen. Thank you for looking into educational politics and sharing your findings with us. What are some educational reasons for people who resent Race to The Top? R-J
ReplyDelete