Education policy wonks (and I can speak as an outsider, having come to Fordham after a long career in journalism) can get so wrapped up in their great ideas for saving the nation's schools that it's easy to forget there are other people with ideas that are far removed from the most timely education reform debates. These usually have nothing to do with the NEA, Democrats, Republicans, reading, writing, or NAEP scores for that matter. For example, last week, Fordham's Terry Ryan and others showed up at the Ohio Senate Education Committee to argue forcefully for a bill that would mandate much-needed changes in Ohio education law, including making it easier for Teach for America alumni to gain teaching licenses in the state.????
But before that testimony could begin, a couple from Middletown, Ohio, spoke in support of another bill. The man and his wife had their own ideas about what schools should be doing, arguing gracefully and poignantly to require schools to include dating violence awareness education in school health classes. In 1992, their daughter was tragically murdered by an estranged boyfriend. In the years since they have been passionate about spreading the word among teenagers of the problem of dating violence and what can be done about it. The couple founded Citizens Against Domestic Violence and has devoted their retirement years to it. Now they want to bring their message statewide and into every public school in the state.
Lots of people have very worthwhile agendas to change the world, and schools are an easy target and vehicle by which to solve problems. As one senator pointed out to the couple, maybe parents should teach their children about dating violence or bullying, which is another problem some people think the schools should address (and they do, via required anti-bullying policies). The answer, of course, is that parents don't so the schools must.
There are lots of other issues that have been off-loaded on schools from sex education to family and community engagement to character education. They all have their well-meaning and passionate advocates and willing ears in state legislatures among lawmakers who want to "do something."???? But these ideas, worthy as they are, add expense and time to schooling. While the well of good ideas for education is seemingly endless, actual class time in schools is finite and there are complaints that not enough time now is being spent on academics.
Though they have little to do with the debates that engage most policy wonks they do serve as a finger on the public's pulse, and as a reality check that not everyone thinks about education and schools the same way.
