[xmca] Centralized vs. Distributed decision-making in schools

[Anthony Barra <tub80742@temple.edu>]

This dispatch on US education reform and the powers that be landed on my
Facebook page last night:  "Why the Ed Department should be reconceived -
or abolished" - by Peter Smagorinsky

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-the-ed-department-should-be-reconceived--or-abolished/2012/03/09/gIQAHfdB5R_blog.html

An educator on education policy, in the public sphere!  More of this please.

One excerpt:

"Instead of having a highly centralized administration powered by money
> contributed by textbook publishers and other entrepreneurs cashing in on
> the lucrative enterprise of educational materials production, I would have
> a *highly distributed approach*** in which most decision-making is local
> and includes — and indeed, relies on — the perspective of teachers.
>
> Presently, there’s little reason for practicing teachers to<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/five-ways-school-reform-is-hurting-teacher-quality/2012/03/08/gIQAHUMK3R_blog.html>keep up with the latest ideas emerging from credible sources, or to engage
> in the process of producing those ideas and becoming credible sources
> themselves. The approach that I suggest would lend urgency to the need for
> teachers to be informed in order to make sound decisions. It would place a
> premium on being a reflective practitioner who is attentive to classroom
> processes and student learning, because such observations would become part
> of the broader school conversation about how to best educate the students
> who attend the school."
>
***emphasis added* because I (as a citizen, not just educator) would love
to hear more about this especially.

Anthony
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