David Whitman, author of "Sweating the Small Stuff: Inner-City Schools and the New Paternalism," wrote a piece for the Huffington Post Wednesday. In it, he broke down the looming battle that Barack Obama will face in the education realm. The Left is essentially divided into two camps - those who support school reform (including the emphasis on accountability and tracking in No Child Left Behind ) as the best means to close the achievement gap; and those, including unions, who ??favor more out-of-school interventions (like adding health clinics or expanded preschool programs) along with dismantling much of NCLB. Obama, Whitman wrote, so far has managed "to keep a foot in both camps," but soon will have to "pick and choose among his priorities." Welcome to the presidency!
Whitman noted that the six inner-city secondary schools he profiled in his book were all extremely successful in closing the achievement gap ??-- because they consistently puts the needs of the kids first. By contrast, he argued, "the nation's dysfunctional inner-city high schools are designed to serve the interest of adults."
Whitman wrote:
It's often said that radical school reform is impossible without the involvement of the all-powerful unions. True enough. Yet the reverse holds true as well: Far-reaching reforms to close the achievement gap will never happen without the unions giving way on some of their bedrock job privileges and antiquated pay systems. At some point during his presidency, Obama will likely have a pivotal moment with the unions that will help determine how committed he is to making a large dent in the achievement gap, as opposed to tinkering with the status quo.