At Eduwonk, Andy Rotherham catches up to Russ Whitehurst’s paper, Don’t Forget Curriculum. But he misses the boat when he writes, “I’m not sure when curriculum and reforms like choice, teacher quality, etc…became either/or.” I’m not sure where Andy’s getting that message, but it’s not from Russ Whitehurst, who went out of his way NOT to say that. Here’s the relevant quote from his paper:
This is not to say that curriculum reforms should be pursued instead of efforts to create more choice and competition through charters, or to reconstitute the teacher workforce towards higher levels of effectiveness, or to establish high quality, intensive, and targeted preschool programs, all of which have evidence of effectiveness. It is to say that leaving curriculum reform off the table or giving it a very small place makes no sense.
Over at the American Enterprise Institute’s blog, Charles Murray adds his voice to the curriculum choir.
Perhaps this is a classic case of projection.
The most prominent reformers spare barely a fraction of a thought for curriculum, and THAT’s Whitehurst’s point.
At least Eduwonk is now aware that curriculum may be gaining in popularity and therefore shouldn’t be ignored. At least he’s paying attention.