OBAMA: Hypocrisy In His Choice-Or Just In His Ability To Choose?

To me, it's more objectionable that President Obama gets to send his kids anywhere he wants than the particularity that he's chosen to send them to progressive-minded Sidwell Friends. But to others, like this EdWeek commentator, the pedagogical differences between Sidwell and more structured schools that might receive Title I funding is galling in the extreme (Obama’s School Choice).  What do you think?

Comments

[Charlie]

My question would be: what in Title I prevents schools from doing this now?

[Tauna]

My answer to Charlie, in part, would be the top-down imposition of standardization in our schools and the attachment of life altering consequences to standardized tests, effectively narrowing opportunities for success rather than expanding them. Every child is an individual.

Just my view.

[john thompson]

I'm reminded of the excellent NYT article this week on test scores and the principal who said that testing was hurting her own son in a presumably middle class school but she thought it was helping the poor kids in her school.

At least many of the conservatives are honest, saying that at least this standardization has the chance of teaching poor kids some more content. I'm frustrated by the liberals who would never allow their own kids to be subjected to the damaging practices that NCLB encourages for poor students.

[Stephen Downes]

I think it is evident that the president can't put his kids into the general population in a public school. This has nothing to do with what the president believes about education and everything to do with the fact that the kids have to be protected 24-7. This is true for every president, probably of every country, anywhere in the world, no matter what their political affiliation.

So attempting to draw conclusions about the president's placement of his kids in some particular school is pure partisan politics, and has no bearing on whether or not his educational policy is sound, hypocritical, or melts like cheese over tuna.