As part of my doctoral program at Catholic, I took a course in Federal education policy at George Washington. The end result of that was a monograph, entitled No Child Left Behind: Views About the Potential Impact of the Bush Administration's Education Proposals. The authors are Dr. Iris Rotberg, who taught the course, and the two students, myself (Kenneth J. Bernstein) and one other, Suzanne B. Ritter. It is published by the Center for Curriculum, Standards, and Technology of the Institute for Education Policy Studies at George Washington University. MS Ritter and I interviewed a total of 19 people about the original proposal made by the Bush administration for education reform. As the foreword to the monograph notes:
"Central to the Bush Administration's education plan are proposals to increase the flexibility of federal programs, strengthen accountability for student performance, and offer school choice options. This monograph examines the implications of the proposals based on interviews conducted with leading policymakers, educators, and researchers" (Rotberg, Bernstein & Ritter, 2001, p. v).
I greatly enjoyed having the opportunity to interview several fairly prominent people in the field of education. Those interviewed were promised total anonymity, so that they could be completely candid. It was a positive experience for the two graduate students (including me) who worked on it. I hope it will not be my last effort at professional writing.
Students or parents who might wish to examine the monograph and look at the copy I keep in my classroom. (added 08/16/01)
Below find links to various pieces I have written. I also suggest that your explore the links for Mr. Bernstein in the News for other items.
RESPONSE TO CHRIS CARROLL this is a piece that I wrote in an interchange on the Educationnews.org bulletin board. It covers a number of the issue I consider important as a teacher. (added 01/14/01)
OUTLAWING TESTS (1) this is a piece posted in response to someone who, in noting that some prospective teachers had paid to get copies of a teacher qualification examination, chose to blame schools and departments of education for all the failings in American schools (by the way, she is a Canadian), and to again (she does this frequently) call for their abolition. My response is probably less than temperate, but judge for yourself. ( 01/14/01)
OUTLAWING TESTS (2) after the lady referred to above responded to that piece by criticizing all educational research as being a total waste of money and time, I posted the response linked here. (01/14/01)
SENATOR BARRY AND THE PLEDGE I saw a piece in the Washington Post about a dispute between two Virginia Legislators on the 1999 law about a mandatory moment of silence in which State Senator Warren Barry made some remarks about the Pledge of Allegiance that my students know will get me started. I include what I posted, which has a section from that Post article and my remarks in response. I seriously thought about submitting this as an op ed piece, but did not have the time to refine it. (01/14/01)
RESPONSE TO ELIZABETH RICHARDSON this is another piece on EducationNews bulletin board. I wrote in response to a woman who was complimentary of some of my writing, but had missed many of the points I was trying to make. You might this an interesting exposition on a number of issues. (01/22/01)
PLEDGE STATEMENT During the public comments portion of the Arlington County Board meetings, some speakers had taken to reciting the pledge, and effectively trying to force others to do so as well. This created something of a debate within the community. Most of those who continued to speak and write on the subject supported the recitation of the Pledge. At the Bard's March 23, 2002 meeting, I offered the following statement, to present another point of view. (03/23/02)