Who were the most influential people in education in 2008? To determine an answer to that question, the Core Knowledge Blog this month polled a number of close observers of education—high profile bloggers and pundits whose thoughts and writings go a long way toward shaping our perceptions of education and ed policy.
Our panel of education observers are Sol Stern, contributing editor to City Journal and a Manhattan Institute senior fellow; veteran Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews; Bill Jackson, founder and president of GreatSchools; Andy Rotherham, founder and co-director of Education Sector; Diane Ravitch, Professor of Education at New York University and a Core Knowledge board member, whose frequent writings about education include the Bridging Differences blog with Deborah Meier; Mike Petrilli, Vice President for National Programs and Policy at the Fordham Foundation; Jay Greene of the University of Arkansas and author of Jay P. Greene’s Blog; Michael Shaughnessy, senior columnist for Education News.org; Nancy Flanagan, an award-winning veteran teacher who blogs at Teacher In A Strange Land; Patrick Riccards, CEO of Exemplar Strategic Communications and author of the blog Eduflack; Corey Bunje Bower who blogs at Thoughts on Education Policy; and Dan Brown, a teacher and author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle, who writes about education for The Huffington Post.
Each of our edupundits was asked to name five movers and shakers who they felt had the greatest impact on education — for better or for worse — in the past year. First place on each ballot was worth five points; second place, four points, etc. Starting tomorrow, we’ll count down the top five top cumulative vote-getters. But today, we’ll look at several significant runners-up–those who received significant support from our panel of experts, but didn’t quite crack the top five.
Outgoing Education Secretary Margaret Spellings appeared on the most ballots of anyone who didn’t make the final list of the top five most influential people in education for the year. Jay Mathews credits Spellings for “staying tough with a cogent argument for NCLB despite lots of criticisms.” Patrick Riccards also included Spellings, but feels she squandered her opportunities in 2008. “She should have been out there saving Reading First, fighting for DC vouchers, and getting NCLB reauthorized (or at least have key provisions agreed to) before the elections arrived,” says Riccards. ”Instead, she kept a low profile, ceding the education improvement field to anyone who wanted to talk about it.”
In 2008, Randi Weingarten was elected president of American Federation of Teachers and its one and a half million member teachers, while maintaining her position atop the UFT. Sol Stern cited Weingarten on his ballot for “the best political balancing act in education.” Could 2009 bring an even bigger political future for her? A dark horse candidate, Weingarten has officially downplayed speculation that she’d be interested in Hillary Clinton’s soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat. On the other hand, the New York Daily News quoted governor David Paterson on the record saying he and Randi discussed it.
Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Foundation and I agreed that Roland Fryer belonged on our ballots. That we were alone in that view is surprising given that the pay-for-performance idea championed by the Harvard professor was one of the biggest hot-button issues of 2008. But even a much-discussed appearance on the Colbert Report wasn’t enough to push Fryer into the Top Five.
Jay Mathews of the Washington Post put Wendy Kopp of Teach for America well up on his top five list. “The big jump in TFA apps,” he notes, ”means she is going be producing even more people like Michelle Rhee and the next two guys” KIPP founders Mike Feinberg and David Levin, who also made Mathews 2008 list. Jay himself was cited among the top movers and shakers by teacher-blogger Nancy Flanagan, a former Michigan Teacher of the Year. “For traditional educational journalism, nobody wields a bigger syndicated pen than Mathews,” she wrote. Mathews “straddles the line between what the general public thinks about educational issues and what ‘professional’ educators think. Willing to dialogue with people who think he’s wrong, and explore new trends, but confident in his opinions.”
Does the name Dane Linn ring a bell? “Dane is the workhorse in education, and few outside of the pure ed wonks would know the name of the National Governors Association’s Education Division director,” says Patrick “Eduflack” Riccards. In 2008, Riccards points out, Linn wrapped up a major high school improvement effort in 10 states, continued a major STEM initiative in six states, and is implementing a common graduation rate across the nation, with Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan among those who came aboard in 2008. ”He’s kept the governors focused on education issues, even during tough budget times, and is the great connector and collborator in town,” Riccards notes. “Few realize how many fingers he has in how many pies, but everyone wants NGA involved. And when it comes to education, Dane is the NGA. He just never claims the credit.”
Other boldface names cited by multiple members of our panel of ed bloggers and journalists: Diane Ravitch, Green Dot founder Steve Barr, and Geoffrey Canada, President and Chief Executive Officer for Harlem Children’s Zone. Professor Michael F. Shaughnessy of Eastern New Mexico University, a senior columnist for EducationNews.org, put Reid Lyon at the top of his list for “his ongoing, almost never ending work on behalf of Reading First.” Surprisingly, only Dan Brown, the teacher, author and Huffington Post blogger named Barack Obama. Arne Duncan’s name also failed to come up, although in fairness, nearly all of the ballots were submitted before he was tapped to be the next Education Secretary. Lastly, Election 2008 is apparently already a distant memory. So much so that the name Bill Ayers appeared on not one ballot.
Tomorrow: #5 Education’s Power Couple
Recent Comments