Remarkable Nonsense

[This letter was published in the print edition of The Cambridge Chronicle on Thursday October 11, 2012, Page A10.]
In his remarkable letter to the Cambridge MA community, the superintendent of schools quotes a remarkable claim that "good teaching comes from the identity of the teacher." Is he serious? Or is he pandering to the liberal dogma in Cambridge that identity politics rule? The same principle was argued in a recent front page story in the Cambridge Chronicle urging more diversity claiming there were not 50 percent of women in the legislature. If women make up more than 50 percent of the population how is that a minority? Why don't they run for office and vote only for women? If they do should men vote only for men? Should White voters vote only for White candidates? No thought goes into what words mean in this city. They are after all just words as the Kennedy politicians used to tell me. There are more persons with disabilities in both the Cambridge and the Massachusetts population than there are either homosexuals or Black people. How many persons with disabilities are employed, no less teaching under this diversity-identity standard in the Cambridge schools? What is remarkable about arguments that make no sense is that the writers make them with a straight face acting more like politicians. How much longer can these destructive policies be employed in this misguided city and state? Here's my idea. Let the students teach themselves. They reflect more closely the school population than any imposed distribution by administrators. 

[From article]
In his remarkable book, The Courage to Teach, Parker J. Palmer writes, “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” Good citizens of Cambridge, today I ask you to join me in recognizing the extraordinary human beings who populate the teaching profession in general, and more specifically the women and men who educate your children, here in the Cambridge Public Schools. 

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x541588268/Guest-commentary-An-open-letter-to-the-Cambridge-community?zc_p=0

Guest commentary: An open letter to the Cambridge community
By Jeffrey M. Young
Cambridge Chronicle
GateHouse News Service
Posted Oct 04, 2012 @ 08:00 AM