Christie, Harvard and the controversy of education reform
Responding to my article today, some readers said he was welcomed at Harvard because the mindset of those in the audience was predisposed against public education.
Christie, Harvard and the controversy of education reform
Matt Katz, Inquirer Staff Writer
I flew in and out of Boston yesterday to check out Gov. Christie at Harvard University, where he spoke to graduate students and got a far warmer welcome than I would have anticipated. Responding to my article today, some readers said he was welcomed at Harvard because the mindset of those in the audience was predisposed against public education. One emailer said the grad students just want to found charter schools.
Others said Christie's education proposals discount the fact that family -- parents -- make a huge difference in a child's education.
And one reader made these three points:
- New Jerseyans may be taxed too much already to pay for education -- but they're also among the richest Americans.
- Schools are the main reason why most people move to New Jesey in the first place.
- Teachers are skeptical of his plans to pay them more if they perform well in the classroom because he's already cut their benefits.
Check out my story, here.
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JerryD, keep your homophobia to your sad little self.— RhondaBillings- I never had the luxury of teaching anywhere but in the inner city schools. Anyone who thinks that schools can somehow overcome all of the ills in society is just plain insane. Poverty (health, hunger, homelessness), crime, broken families, drugs, gangs and an anti education environment all act as roadblocks for schools. Does anyone ask the police why they can't seem to control drugs and crime? They have to deal with the impact of all the same societal problems. And the truth is they can't overcome those problems either. So you folks can destroy teacher unions, give everyone a voucher and basically do anything else you please but until you deal with all the societal problems you might as well build more and more prisons. Which by the way cost a lot more per inmate than is spent on each pupil. That alone sort of tells you enough about our society.— mindstorms
- Cut education. That's the answer. This from the party that claims America is "execeptional." We are already behind the rest of the world in math and science and they still say we are exceptional. They also are still selling the trickle down theory of economics. How's that working out. Recall this Repiglican as soon as you can.— oldlion
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- @Rhonda - What's a matter? Jerry D is absolutly right. You and the other liberal left are just to ignorant/self involved to admit it. Inky and the liberal left have been telling lies and trying to slander Christie and the right for a long time now and what's funny is, no matter how you cut it, numbers don't lie...liberalism has bankrupted America and American values and one doesn't have to look any further than the City of Philadelphia and the State of NJ for proof.— Citizenc92
- Republics like to have dumb people- they are easier to manipulate— jzgirl
Reach him at mkatz@phillynews.com or 609-217-8355.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattkatz00. Reach Matt at mkatz@phillynews.com or 609-217-8355.
