"Least influential of education's most influential information sources."
-- Education Week Research Center
"full of very lively short items and is always on top of the news...He gets extra points for skewering my high school rating system"
-- Jay Mathews, The Washington Post
"a daily dose of information from the education policy world, blended with a shot of attitude and a dash of humor"
-- Education Week
"unexpectedly entertaining"..."tackle[s] a potentially mindfogging subject with cutting clarity... they're reading those mushy, brain-numbing education stories so you don't have to!"
-- Mickey Kaus
"a very smart blog... this is the site to read"
-- Ryan Lizza
"everyone who's anyone reads Edu Commentary"
-- Richard Colvin
"designed to cut through the fog and direct specialists and non-specialists alike to the center of the liveliest and most politically relevant debates on the future of our schools"
-- The New Dem Daily
"peppered with smart and witty comments on the education news of the day"
-- Education Gadfly
"don't hate Edu Commentary cuz it's so good"
-- Alexander Russo, This Week In Education
"the morning's first stop for education bomb-throwers everywhere"
-- Mike Antonucci, Intercepts
"…the big dog on the ed policy blog-ck…"
-- Michele McLaughlin
"I check Edu Commentary several times a day, especially since I cut back on caffeine"
-- Joe Williams
"...one of the few bloggers who isn't completely nuts"
-- Mike Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
"I have just three 'go to' websites: The Texas Legislature, Texas Longhorn sports, and Edu Commentary"
-- Sandy Kress
"penetrating analysis in a lively style on a wide range of issues"
-- Walt Gardner
"Fabulous"
-- Education Week's Alyson Klein
"thugs"
-- Susan Ohanian
Smart List: 60 People Shaping the Future of K-12 Education
Why would I want to see pictures of education people w/ fish?
Is there a charter school teacher, or perhaps a NOLA teacher with a fish they caught with a flyrod.
Oops, I forgot. They are chattel, to be managed, pushed, punished, and destroyed by educators.
“Educators” has been co-opted by the edu-reformers since they are afraid of being branded with this idea: Edu-reform is a great business model, and HORRIBLE FOR KIDS.”
So, the pejorative “teachers” is now use ONLY for those who PRODUCE THE REAL VALUE.
So Rotherham, what you have done is create a class system. Teachers are stigmatized, and the managers like you are exalted. You get to go fly fishing. They get to work.
Honestly, where do you think the best and brightest are going to come from, if not the legacies from the Iveys with majors in women’s medieval armor?
I cringe when I think about “edu-reformers” fishing.
I can see them showing up in their multi-thousands regalia only to cast like a chump and break down under the weight.
I was surf fishing in SB, and had just landed a fat corbina on a sufin’ merkin when I saw some edu-crats walking down the beach in WADERS and fly fishing vests.
I was wearing board shorts, booties and had one spool of leader and a small box of flies tucked in a pocket. I asked them what the hell they were doing.
They said, “fishing”. I thought, “No, you are shopping.”
I fished the Deschutes last May for the Salmon Fly hatch. i watched the rubes flinging salmon flies, slapping the water, spooking fish right under their feet, and generally carrying on like a pack of monkeys. They reminded me of the kids who get the fancy guitar and TORTURE THE NEIGHBORS.
I sat down, took a nap, and then fished their beat. Two fish over twenty inches on, NOT a stone fly, but a YELLOW SALLY. I waded wet. I stayed low. I was quiet. I can chuck a drag free drift. I trimmed back my leader to get good turnover in the wind.
I feel sorry for those folks. They simply do not understand that flyfishing is NOT a sportl but art. It is a lifetime passion and it takes work and creativity. There is NO RIGHT TO THE FISH.
Frankly, I cannot stand the though of an education policy expert fishing. Sorry R. I am not convinced you have the right mindset for it. It takes a real dose of self deprecation, honesty, and perseverance. I do not get that vibe from your professional lot. Fly fishing IMPROVES some folks. Others show up to conquer some fish and leave their mark like a dog and a rock. I resent that.
Let me tell you. That corbina on a fly. Wow!
Headed to Baja next June for two weeks of fishing on the Sea of Cortez for rooster fish and dorado. Working on my double haul for effortless shots of one hundred feet.
If I can remember to wear my mask to conceal my much despised identity I will do it.
I have a deschutes picture in mask of my red-sides. Maybe, but I think my status on this site is well below despised.
I think I have earned three years of bad luck for banging on a novice fisherman. Forgive me.