Jim Wooten Needs New Source & Topic!

The AJC’s Jim Wooten is back to citing partial or even flawed research to advocate for even more conservatism in public schools. He’s lately seemed top have fallen in love with Jay Green of The Manhattan Institute. Dont't do it Jim! It's a trap! I just recently scolded Jim and then soon after did another post lamenting that several readers had fallen for his ideas “hook, line, and sinker”.

Here’s an alternative view by Nathan Newman entitled “The Right Wing War on Public Schools” for anybody that stumbles across my post (I am still waiting on a reply from Mr. Wooten and Ms. Cynthia Tucker at the AJC!) provided by Progressive Legislative Action Network. One link dropped in by Mr. Newman is to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities where Kevin Carey’s gives us “Education Funding and Low-Income Children: A Review of Current Research”. Some months back The New York Times reported on the success Raleigh, North Carolina was having with “income integration” where their schools are being structured so that no more than 40% of students would come from low-income homes. Test scores, and I hardly think they always are great measures of learning, seem to show something good is resulting. The Century Foundation’s Equality and Education Project is also a solid resource with reform resources and suggestions plentiful.

Jim Wooten is wrong. Vouchers will help few and harm many! Mr. Wooten continues to come across as a shill for the right on something that he is seemingly not qualified to address. At best he is twisting or misinterpreting some rather complex research ... yet it might be that he’s just recycling garbage from these “think tanks” that are so very well funded by the right. Alternatively, his love for "the market" might be clouding his thinking. The danger is that he influences readers that will allow further harm to fall upon our children and society. Peace … or War!