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
1. Checker Finn (If I have to list why, you haven’t been paying attention.) 2. Michelle Rhee (All 300 Spartans rolled into one, will ultimately lose, lessons will be learned, next battle will be won big time.) 3. Charles Murray (“We need to start treating people as individuals and quit lumping them into groups.”) 4. James Tooley (You will know who this guy is by the end of 2009, if Checker Finn has anything to do with it.) 5. Richard Ingersoll (The man’s life’s crusade, out-of-field teaching is an education scandal.)
How can any candidate list not include Michelle Rhee?
She’s actually getting something done compared to many on the list who have done nothing but babble and argue throughout the year without producing a single, concrete accomplishment.
Hmmm. Your comments denigrating the accomplishmens of our RUNNERS UP notwithstanding, the countdown of the top five vote getters begins tomorrow. As Michelle Rhee would (and has) said, if the kids can’t read, you’re not doing your job.
Were I to vote for the most significant persons, without regard for whether they were a force for good or not, I clearly go for Michelle Rhee. I’m one of those historians, however, who can’t vote for Reagan as a “great” president just because he was greatly influential. Any donkey can kick down a barn. So I reserve my votes for people who are a positive force.
So, I’d nominate Diane Ravitch. She’s kept an open mind, changed her views, and she articulates the best single solution for NCLB II. And if Gates actually followed Ravitch’s example, then we’d have an incredible force for good. Ravitch’s amd Meiers’ Bridging Dffierences should be a model for our profession’s reform efforts. So, I could also vote for Deborah Meiers. But those of us in the progressive tradition have idolized her for years. It’s Ravitch’s evolution which is so crucial. She like E.D. Hirsch contributed to my changes in educational philosophy through their arguments and Ravitch modeled the best way to demonstrate an open mind.
You think Spellings is tough? She is being sued for failure to produce documents in an educational fraud case that she has backed to support two accreditors and a school from civil actions. her acts with others, nearly killed a student a couple of months ago. http://www.educationalfraud.com
I was a bit stumped over this question of “Education Person of the Year.” Those actions that stand out in a given year may not be the most durable ones, while some of the most important work of a given year may show its effects only later.
That said, Eduwonkette clearly merits the title, for immediate impact and (I predict) lasting significance. Yay Eduwonkette! She has influenced how many of us regard education data and how we sort out truth from fallacy. That is no meager accomplishment. And yes, she is great fun to read.
In a similar spirit I’d like to cast a symbolic vote for Daniel T. Willingham. His articles dismantle education fads and assumptions in a lucid, convincing, and entertaining manner. I can’t wait for his upcoming book.
Now, if we were to name an “Education Person of Lasting Influence” I, like John Thompson, would nominate Diane Ravitch, though for reasons somewhat different from his. I would nominate her primarily for her books, from the earliest to the latest, including her anthologies. It’s hard for me to choose favorites, but at this point they are probably Left Back, The Troubled Crusade, and The American Reader. I would love to elaborate, but then this would turn into an essay! And, like John, I love the dialogue of Ravitch and Meier in Bridging Differences and see a great example in it.
In the “lasting influence” category, I’d like to cast a vote for E. D. Hirsch as well. Yes, I am biased toward Core Knowledge, but that’s part of the point. I am biased because it is a great curriculum with wisdom, knowledge, and spark behind it. Preaching to the choir, am I? Then let’s sing!
Another person of lasting influence could be William Schmidt, who led the development of the math curriculum in Minnesota. According to Diane Ravitch, he deserves much of the credit for the dramatic gains on the 2007 TIMSS in Minnesota. This could be an inspiration for other states.
And whether her influence is lasting or ephemeral, I can’t help voting for Ellen Foote, the NYC principal who “nearly rolled over on the floor laughing” when she read her school’s NYC DoE report card this year. I have no opinion of her beyond this, but I find her bluntness rare and refreshing. A little extreme? Yes. But she was responding to a greater extremity: a school evaluation system that contains many flaws and affects many lives.
But here I am voting away in a nonexistent poll as the day flies by!
Happy New Year to all at Core Knowledge. Have long been a fan but only recently discovered this site. A very pleasant surprise to find John and Diana as CK authors along with (of course) Diane Ravitch.
Here’s hoping Core Knowledge continues to flourish and Hirsch disciples expand exponentially.
All our schools need a plan and a common plan for all in the form of national standards and assessments would be most beneficial. Wheteher to use CK as the set of standards or the model for national stndards, either way US schools would win.