Nonsequity
You might think it would be hard to ignore the huge financial differences between rich and poor school districts in states like California and New York, where there are huge financial differences between rich and poor school districts, but you would be wrong. We are so done with the old, worn-out age of equity. Who cares if there is a large and growing body of rigorous empirical literature showing that state school finance reforms can have real, positive effects on student outcomes, such as reducing outcome disparities or raising overall outcome levels? No one, because we’re now living in a new age of *nonsequity*. Note: If you have a play-at-home scorecard for the kids vs. tenure lawsuits, you should now use a Sharpie to cross out “equity.” Cross off “poverty,” “facts,” and “rigorous empirical literature” while you’re at it.
Hillary
Hillary can win in 2016 for sure, as long as she is willing to run against teachers. The extended Obama family’s decision to bet big on kids vs. bad teachers means that Hillary must now bet even more or go back to the house that isn’t white and where Bill is still leaving his vegan dishes in the sink. In other words, she has to run against the people who voted for her in 2008: women of a certain age who are about to be replaced by someone younger and less arrogant.
Public Relations
Allow me to take this opportunity to PRepare you for the public conversation that we are about to have, reader. No doubt you noticed that the PR in PRepare is capitalized. That’s because public relations is at the heart of the public conversation we are about to have. I know this because Campbell Brown helpfully explains here that the kids vs. bad teachers lawsuit for which she will serve as the fresh face will hinge less on what the case is actually about than what her PR team will tell us it’s about. Which, as she also helpfully explains, is how civil rights are won, and also lucrative PR work down the road after the PR team is done winning the civil rights.
Obama Administration Alums
It’s not easy being an Obama Administration Alum these days, reader. After all, the other civil rights *space* of our time, lobbying for the for-profit college industry, is increasingly crowded. Which is why I was so relieved to hear that at least two OAAs have agreed to lend their public relations heft to kickstart the public relations conversation that we are about to start having.
Anecdotal Evidence
Here’s a question for you, reader. What’s the plural of anecdote? If you answered *anecdotes,* you should probably consider updating your LinkedIn profile and exploring careers other than teaching. That’s because everyone who is anyone knows that the plural of anecdote is *data.* And *data* will be at the very heart of the public relations conversation that we are about to start having, thanks to our host Campbell Brown (see entry above, Campbell Brown; Dirty Dancing Lemons).
Mass Confusion
Is it pronounced *tenYEAR* or *tenYUR*? Why do teachers want to establish a caliphate in upstate New York anyway? Who broke the status quo? And when we fix it, will it still be the status quo? How many anecdotes does it take to make data? What exactly is the Levant? And is there any problem that *grit* can’t solve?