George Will has had it with ed schools and their insatiable desire to inject political bias into tomorrow's teachers. "Many education schools discourage, even disqualify, prospective teachers who lack the correct 'disposition,' meaning those who do not embrace today's 'progressive' political catechism," he writes. "The permeation of ed schools by politics is a consequence of the vacuity of their curricula." How true. Instead of informing tomorrow's teachers about, say, the best methods of reading and writing instruction, ed schools are forwarding vague social goals. Students at the University of Alabama's College of Education, for example, are taught "to promote social justice, to be change agents, and to recognize individual and institutionalized racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism." Will's solution? "Close all the schools of education." Wishful thinking, but Gadfly sure is glad to see we aren't the only ones talking about this anymore.
"Ed Schools vs. Education," by George F. Will, Newsweek, January 16, 2006