Today marks the last day of my blog for Education Week. When it debuted on Feb. 16, 2010, my goal was to present my views about educational issues based on the 28 years that I taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
I believed then, as I do now, that there is an urgent need to provide understandable answers about schools at this crossroads in their history. I intend to continue to do so in my new blog, The EdHed, which premieres on Mar. 5. Hint: “hed” is journalism-spelling for headline. I hope you will follow me.
I don’t think that education in this country will be recognizable in the next decade. We’ve already seen evidence of this. Technology and privatization are merely the tip of the iceberg. With so much on the line, it’s only a matter of time before far more fundamental changes become apparent. I’m not an apologist for the ills afflicting public education, but neither do I believe in throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
It’s the latter that concerns me the most. Despite the incessant attacks on public schools, teachers still produce impressive results. Yet unlike other professions, they are given little input in what needs to be done. I don’t see much hope for attracting and retaining the best and the brightest to the classroom unless they are accorded far greater respect. In the final analysis, there is no substitute for what they do.
I want to thank my readers for their comments. It’s been a great honor connecting with you. And I want to express my deep appreciation to the editors, who have provided tremendous support. I won’t forget any of you.