Aging leadership makes change harder for Madison schools

Dave Cieslewicz:

Here's the larger point.

While much of this has been characterized as a racial split in our community, and it is, I believe this issue is just as much the result of a generational divide. The truth is that most of the people standing in the way of any kind of meaningful change are aging progressives in their late sixties and seventies, self-satisfied folks who are just sure that they have all the answers to every problem. They are at the highest levels of MTI and other unions, city government, and even a newspaper in town. They cling tightly to power, and they seem not to know when it's time to let a new and more diverse generation step up to leadership positions.

So, yes, much of the controversy surrounding our schools is race-based, but much of it also has to do with the tired leadership in a lot of major institutions in Madison. I don't think we'll make real progress on this or other serious issues facing our community until we get fresh faces and new ideas in place.

It's time for a change.

Related: www.wisconsin2.org and Vietnam's primary school computer science curriculum.

Yet, Madison's disastrous reading problems continue year after year.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 21, 2013 1:29 AM
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