I’m always getting pitches from consulting firms with names like The Something Group, asking me to review a film, book or video for their clients and help get their names into the blogosphere. The latest was Laura from the Rosen Group asking me to watch a video from the Aspen Ideas Festival. What I really wanted to ask Laura is--how come I never get invited to Aspen? It seems to be the place where only the executive wing of education reform hangs out, with some corporate sponsor picking up the heavy tab. Does that answer my previous question? Yes, it does.
Don't get me wrong. I love Aspen and the beautiful Colorado Rockies. The old mining town used to be a place where writers, artists and hippies roamed. Now you're more likely to find Michael Eisner, Victoria Beckham, or Prince Bandar. I wonder what a hotel room in Aspen costs these days? Probably no place for an urban teacher to come and have her/his voice heard at the Ideas Festival. But I digress.
The topic of the video and of Atlantic Magazine’s Aspen panel discussion was intriguing—“Is higher education for everyone?" The three powerhouse panelists were: Paul Verkuil, Former President, College of William and Mary; and Michael Bennet, Superintendent of the Denver Public School System.
Bennet, the only public school educator on the panel, never even gets one word in during the entire video. Why was he even there? His hair was perfect. But his comments would have been most interesting since he runs a district that sees a small percentage of its students get a 4-year college degree.
Neither of the other two had anything meaningful to contribute. Too bad, because these two guys are in some way really part of the problem. They each run, or ran, big universities—one public and the other private—which have priced themselves out of the market for almost anyone who isn’t a millionaire’s kid or willing to face a lifetime of heavy debt.
The video offers no debate, no discussion, no new insights into the question it poses. Mote and Verkuil each try and sound clever at times with old-boy ed-chatter. Verkuil, described on the video as former CEO of the American Automobile Association, is actually a pretty progressive guy. He's been an outspoken critic of privatization mania under the Ownership Society and wrote a pretty good book on the topic.
But in the video, he offers none of that. Instead, he uses one of my favorite quotes from behaviorist B.F. Skinner: "Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten,” for no apparent reason, and then he mistakenly attributes it to Albert Einstein, proving Skinner’s quote to be perfectly appropriate.
Thanks, Laura, for wasting 8 minutes and 20 seconds of my life.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI checked Aspen hotel prices for you. If you want to stay in town, on Main Stree, the Hotel Jerome has room available starting as low as $595/night and going up to $735 if you want the bed-and-breakfast package. Must be some breakfast.
Ron