Playing games with teachers is not very fun

It is time to stop playing games with teachers.

The politics of public education today reminds me of Calvinball.

I learned about the art of absurdity from the old Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. Although I was in junior high school at the time, I still remember the game in which Calvin and his imaginary tiger friend changed the rules as their game progressed.

This is how education reformers are handling teachers and the work of teaching in public schools. We believe that, by repeatedly changing education, we will finally arrive at the panacea. Instead, we continue to discard failed plans and replace them with temporary fixes that end up failing in the end.

If we truly appreciate teachers, as we should this Teacher Appreciation Week, we can craft policy that really works for our public schools.