To all my fellow education policy geeks out there, it appears that national TV executives have heard our cries and given us what we wanted. I’m not talking about the recent two-hour NBC Education Nation teacher town hall in Denver. However, you really ought to listen to the podcast interview with Branson Online elementary teacher Christina Narayan, as she explained her perspective from attending the event.
Nor am I talking about the fact that my family’s favorite Friday night show The Devil’s Advocate last week featured a conversation with Tim Farmer from the Professional Association of Colorado Educators about House Bill 1333, the “options for teachers” legislation. Yes, that’s great, too. But I am thinking about something that could be potentially bigger and feed my video-watching appetite for a long time to come.
Choice Media TV’s Bob Bowdon has unveiled the new series Reform School: A Public Forum on Changing American Education. The inaugural episode features a lively discussion on the federal role in education policy with Democrats for Education Reform’s Joe Williams and Dr. Jay Greene of the University of Arkansas. Two clips have been released on the Choice Media site:
Go ahead. Watch it. You know you want to. The clips are right-sized at under 4 minutes and full of good discussion, debate and insight from the leading lights in the world of education reform.
Besides, well-placed rumor has it that an upcoming segment may (!) include a virtual question for one of the guests devised and submitted by my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow. Like State Board of Education chairman Bob Schaffer and yours truly, he isn’t a huge fan of federal involvement, which might color his question. Yes, I know you’ve got to be careful of rumors. Believing too many of them might ultimately lead a young soul down the dark and dangerous path to, well, reform school, I guess. Given this image of reform school, though, just how bad of a place would it really be?
I know, wrong “Reform School.” But anyway, here’s wishing the best to the new Choice Media TV series.