Universal Public Education Is Dead

The National Education Association (NEA) received criticism for publishing an Op-Ed with Teach for America (TFA). Ken Bernstein found the piece to be “unbelievable,” while raising the possibility that union members felt betrayed. Anthony Cody first responded with “I just don’t get it,” and then raised this question:

“I wonder how it is possible to fight vigorously for a minimum one-year residency program and simultaneously praise someone whose recruitment model features a five week summer training course, and targets people who do not even wish to become teachers?”

While this rising concern that NEA is failing its mission has received relatively strong coverage in the new media of blogs and twitter, Susan Ohanian has been raising a similar (but nearly ignored) concern about the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)—the largest professional organization for teachers of English. I too have challenged NCTE’s role insupporting national standards and partnering with National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for teacher certification standards. But my voice like Ohanian’s has been essentially shouting down an empty well, it seems.

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