A number of eons ago, I had a Twitter debate with Justin Hamilton, who is Arne Duncan’s press secretary. I forget how it started, but the tenor of the exchange went something like this.
I question whether education would be reformed by educators or entrepreneurs, and Justin, unbidden, sprang to the defense of entrepreneurs. Or maybe he said that teachers and entrepreneurs would both transform education. I narrowed my target and said I was complaining specifically about for-profit entrepreneurs, not people with an entrepreneurial spirit. Justin’s response as something along the lines of, well, you are an entrepreneur, you sell books and make speeches.
Happily, essayist Rachel Levy has saved me the trouble of explaining how shallow Justin’s response was. Her thoughts about intellectual work and business and entrepreneurialism bear reading. I recommend her essay to you, along with the thoughtful comments that follow.
I can’t be angry at Justin. He did write to ask me for a copy of my book, which I sent him gratis and autographed.
I just wish he had found it in his heart or head to say something negative about the unfortunate rise of for-profit schooling and privatization. He didn’t and he couldn’t. That says something about our government’s policies.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Enrepreneurs can play a much needed role in improving the lives of our young people by visiting inner city public school campuses and inviting teachers and students to come tour their businesses. Too many of our children never get to see the many POSITIVE aspects of “the real world” that can be found in a place of business. Things like a career, responsibility, learning a trade, etc. Too many kids only know of two possible futures — incarceration or the streets. Businesses can change this.
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Trouble is, you can’t tell the Entrepreneurs from the Offrippeneurs till it’s way too late to get your money back.
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I like the idea of educators reforming ed. However I think that leaves out the parents and the local community. Add those to the mix and I believe you have a recipe for success.
Notice how the STATE and the FEDS are left out of my equation.
It’s the Govt. bureaucrats who’ve destroyed public ed.
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