Discuss this editorial.

This article focuses on what Linda Darling-Hammond purpotedly is against, but syas littel about what she is for. Of course, Darling-Hammond is concerned about the underfudning of public schools. But this is one piece of a larger, coherent plan for transforming schools that includes truly improving the quality of the teaching and learning experience, improving assessments so that accountability is based on meaningful tools, and making sure schools use equitable practices that enable students from all groups to succeed. If these priorities are not part of real and far-reaching reform, then I don't know what is.

Susan Sandler @ 3:39 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

Here we go again. Money, recruiting the brightest graduates to go into the teaching profession, and a greater knoweldge of math will not solve the problems of transfering knowledge to students. The solution is to first recognize that the teachers need to understand the teaching process. How does one transfer knowledge successfully. Until we solve this problem we will continue to fail and no amount of money in the world will help. Money does not cause a student to know or make a teacher successful. Can for once we start at the beginning. We might want to listen to the old cowboy. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!

Don Hutson @ 3:08 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

To say the selection of Linda Darling-Hammond gives "little confidence that she would support innovative approaches to education" is ridiculous. Look up Darling-Hammond's research and you will find one of the most forward thinking ideas on education. Look at her support for Small School or Small Learning Communities. This allows students to not get lost in the big high schools and also receive a rigorous education. Look at the Humanitas Small Learning Communities in the district. Just because Darling-Hammond made some comments about Teach for America, does not mean that she does not support innovative change.

LAUSD Teacher @ 2:41 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

The last two days has seen editorials by the LA Times espousing merit pay as one of the solutions to problems within the school. The large problem with merit pay in California is the money. What if merit pay causes teachers to want to teach better. We can't afford to pay the wages if everyone becomes a model teacher under our current financial system. The only model of merit pay that has shown promise is found in Colorado which required public acceptance of a raise in taxes.

Tom G @ 2:08 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

@ Message 11: No, washouts should not go to jail. Ideally, we should offer programs to help them with their special needs. But 2 hard cases in a classroom should not be allowed to hold back the other 23. Maybe you've seen how this works. If not, you might be amazed at how much damage is done by leaving difficult kids in classrooms.

Paul @ 2:07 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

What I don't understand is why student's low achievement is continually being attributed to poverty, lack-luster teaching, or low expectations. Why doesn't anyone ever address parental failure to reinforce or even question what they're child learned that day in school. Teachers have kids for 55 minute increments, whereas parents have much more access to their kids for learning opportunities. I think we should start to lay some of the blame for poor academic achievement on the parents of the kids who don't try, disrupt classrooms, and don't appreciate the free education being offered to them.

Jim Bill @ 1:52 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

Your stance on Darling-Hammond is uninformed by her record. She has criticized the lack of school supports in NCLB, not its focus on accountability; she supports strong preparation and development programs for teachers regardless of how they enter the profession; and she advocates for better testing systems to assess what students know and are able to do. These are precisely the positions we need from Washington to truly reform our nation's schools.

Ash Vasudeva @ 1:48 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

Beware sound bytes! To characterize Darling-Hammond’s work as being oppositional to the standardization/accountability reform movements oversimplifies her work. A homogeneous educational landscape is unfathomable in a modern world. Darling-Hammond recognizes that student achievement is situated. Students are located in traditional, charter, magnet, and home schools. Education must be rigorous yet diverse. There are other, sophisticated curricular ideologies that embrace standardization; and also teach students much more than the narrow, scripted learning assigned to teachers by publishing companies who sell both the curriculum prescriptions.

Giselle Edman, Principal @ 1:35 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

Linda Darling-Hammond is that rare combination—a visionary who seeks to transform schools and someone who is deeply grounded in the current daily realities of those schools. As a result, she can bring about real and deep change—this is why I believe she will have a transformative impact on our schools. As a scholar, a teacher and implementer, and an advocate she is a unique triple threat that has demonstrated effective and broad policy change at the school and district level.

Susan Sandler @ 1:11 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

No traditionalists. The traditional education model is a closed system, designed to ignore its environment, operates as a centralized, hierarchical, machine bureaucracy, that educate students through pseudo assembly lines called grades. The model perceives teachers, like all assembly workers, as machines that are solely motivated by money and treat them as such. According to Frederick Taylor, his system management philosophy should have never been used on knowledge workers. Maltreatment resulted in unions whose primary interest is the teachers, not educating the children. Change the model, empower the teachers and things will improve.

Ransome @ 12:03 PM PST, Dec 12, 2008

Next