"Crisis" Springboard Accepted by All Sides
Last updated: Thursday - October 16, 2008
In last night's (Oct. 15, 2008) third and last Presidential debate, the topic turned to education in the waning seconds. The debate moderator introduced the question of what each candidate would do for education in America with the ancient and widely accepted old bromide that America's public schools are among the worst in the world and threaten the nation's economic vitality and security itself.

Both candidates accepted this assessment and used it as a springboard to launch into their respective solutions: Obama--charter schools, more pay for teachers, no vouchers; McCain--vouchers, alternative certification, fire bad teachers.

So "crisis" seems to be the necessary legitimization of any serious proposals to change education. One wonders whether the continual invoking of the crisis metaphor has unpredictable and deleterious effects on the institution itself. Through eroding morale of professionals in the field? By discouraging people from associating with an endeavor so hopeless that it is always in a state of "crisis"? By prompting precipitous and poorly thought out action to "rescue" a failing system?

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