The American Dream Is Leaving America

CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

I was pleasantly surprised at this editorial, focusing as it does on the inequality of funding public education, rather than piling on a teaching profession allegedly full of "bad apples". (See the November 3rd issue of TIME magazine.)

This was not the Nicholas Kristof I remembered...

...so, I looked him up, and sure enough there it was in the fine print:

Education reform

In a 2011 New York Times op-ed, Kristof wrote that he is "not a fan" of teachers' unions[48] because he maintains that unions encourage teachers to accept low wages in return for job security (future seniority benefits, pensions, and protection from arbitrary dismissal). He feels that such protections have the effect of protecting bad teachers, who then have to be fired for cause – a time-consuming, drawn out process – rather than being subject to being summarily fired at will.[49] Instead, Kristof advocates that teachers give up these rights and protections in exchange for receiving much higher average starting salaries. He suggests that instead of the current figure of $39,000 for teacher starting salaries, entering teaching salaries start at $65,000, a figure which he believes will have the effect of attracting and retraining more talented individuals to the profession.

I'll give Mr. Kristof credit for at least acknowledging that there are deeper roots to the problems in public education in the United States.

Apparently, this even-handedness "comes honestly" from his underlying concern over social injustices throughout the world. Also from his Wikipedia bio:

Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist, author, op-ed columnist, and a winner of two Pulitzer Prizes. He has written an op-ed column for The New York Times since November 2001 and The Washington Post says that he "rewrote opinion journalism" with his emphasis on human rights abuses and social injustices, such as human trafficking and the Darfur conflict.[1] Although Kristof has sometimes been criticized for highlighting human rights abuses in Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has described Kristof as an "honorary African" for shining a spotlight on neglected conflicts.

Now, Mr. Kristof, if only you would see why tenure is important in public education to protect teachers from the social injustices they have suffered. Maybe buy/read a copy of The Teacher Wars. I did, and like your editorial, it's fairly even-handed, even leaning in your direction of the alleged excesses of unionism.

C'mon, Nick...

...it's never too late to learn!