In last month's Governing, Alan Ehrenhalt argued that politicians' grandiose promises to turn around failing schools - which reveal a lopsided emphasis on the condition of education at the expense of other pressing issues - are harmful and misleading. In addition to inflating hopes, the school reform crusade perpetuates the dangerous notion that cities can't be healthy until their schools are "fixed," he wrote. Judging by the revival of such metropolises as Boston and Chicago (but not those cities' schools), Ehrenhalt contends that better schools are one of the last stages of urban renewal, following safe streets, bustling commerce and efficient transportation. "The School-Renewal Fallacy," by Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing, November 2002
