Will Obama take the opportunity to be the education president?

Understandably the early attention has focused on who Obama has appointed to the economic and national security positions in his cabinet. But one of the appointments that will tell us the most about what kind of president Obama intends to be is education secretary: will he pick someone who pleases the teachers unions, a key Democratic interest group, or a genuine reformer prepared to take on the obstacles to reform, including the teachers unions.

Education in America desperately needs to be reformed. There are two problems. The first is the tenure system which prevents bad teachers from being removed and good teachers being suitably rewarded; the teachers unions are opposed to any meaningful changes to this system. Second, schools are funded by local property taxes this means that, as a general rule, prosperous areas have good schools and poor areas bad schools.  

David Brooks explains the opportunity that Obama has if he is prepared to be bold:

“The stakes are huge. For the first time in decades, there is real momentum for reform. It’s not only Rhee and Klein — the celebrities — but also superintendents in cities across America who are getting better teachers into the classrooms and producing measurable results. There is an unprecedented political coalition building, among liberals as well as conservatives, for radical reform.

No Child Left Behind is about to be reauthorized. Everyone has reservations about that law, but it is the glaring spotlight that reveals and pierces the complacency at mediocre schools. If accountability standards are watered down, as the establishment wants, then real reform will fade.

This will be a tough call for Obama, because it will mean offending people, but he can either galvanize the cause of reform or demoralize it. It’ll be one of the biggest choices of his presidency.”