[From article]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the purity of whose liberalism is wondrous, says education today consists of two worlds. One is "of contractors and consultants, and academics and experts, and plenty of officials at the federal, state and local level." The other is of those who teach, and "the footprint of that first world has become way too big in their lives."
Existing law forbids federal officials from exercising "any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution." Existing practices ignore the law, especially by using $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funds to bribe states to accept the Common Core standards (to which tests and hence texts are "aligned"). Alexander understands the futility of trying to lasso the federal locomotive with a cobweb of words. His solution is a portion of his 1981 proposal: Devolve to states all responsibility for evaluating schools, students and teachers.
[. . .]
Although liberal academia deserves its government-inflicted miseries, Alexander's next project will be the deregulation of higher education. The need for which he demonstrates by unfurling the taped-together 10 pages — more than nine feet — of forms containing more than 100 questions students must answer when applying for federal aid.
[. . .]
In 2010, before Obama's vandalism against the separation of powers had confronted the country with the most lawless presidency since Richard Nixon's, Pence delivered an address in which he said, "The president is not our teacher, our tutor, our guide or ruler." There is a presidential "duty of self-restraint" because "a president who slights the Constitution is like a rider who hates his horse: he will be thrown, and the nation along with him."
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will020715.php3
Fixing America's failing approach to schools
By George Will
Published Feb. 7, 2015
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