Oprah Finds a New Superman, or Two

"The difference between going to college or going to jail". Worlds Collide: Chris Christie Meets Oprah Obama Ed. Secretary Arne Duncan pipes in via remote.

In our President Barack Obama's hometown of Chicago, a story on charter schools:

Charter students typically log two more hours per day than traditional public schools, which advocates say provides an edge. Of the top 10 nonselective Chicago high schools with the highest ACT scores, seven are charters, according to state data.

...while the Illinois legislature continues to keep the numbers capped:

Charter public schools significantly increase their students’ chances of graduating high school. Indeed, the state’s largest charter school, Chicago International Charter School, graduates 90.4 percent of its students—better than students in the suburbs and downstate Illinois, who graduate at a rate of 83 percent. Charter schools, in short, are doing their job – while much of the public school system is not.
We encourage the legislature to do the following:

• Lift the cap on charter schools in Chicago and statewide, before it again hinders the growth of charter schools in the city.
• Reform the charter school authorization process to allow more innovative schools in districts throughout Illinois.

Waiting for Superman around the country.

Oprah was one of the biggest supporters of The One. Perhaps she's seeing through him now. I guess she's giving Arne Duncan a pass, even though the former head of CPS can't lift up Chicago and Illinois. Race to the top flop. Unions 1, kids zero.

The president didn't use his status to make every Chicago public school kid special, no, no, no.

Obama: I Could Use My Status to Get Special Treatment for My Kids

Clout for Dem Elites is nothing new.

The president didn't use his status to make every D.C. public school kid special, no, no, no.

And of course, when he and Bill Ayers had a $100 million in Annenberg Challenge funds for the Chicago Public Schools, what did they do with it.

In contrast, a real impetus for change.

This is not the most important issue for America right now. It's jobs and the economy. But as we know, teachers unions are one of the big drivers of the public private pay and benefits gap which is bankrupting our country. And others in the labor movement are increasingly becoming unhinged. We need Superman. Or Batman:)

P.S. Perhaps more attention to detail in geography classes. Or at the Obama State Dept. Back to basics.