Cronyism--but still no apple for the teacher

I love the word cronyism because it is fun to say and write. As an "ism" it is one that, under another name, is perfectly innocuous. When we "network" and cash in our social capital by knowing the right people and getting our feet into doors that would otherwise remain closed, this is seen as smart and common sense. When we call it cronyism, it takes on a more illicit and morally corrupt connotation.

Is the "Reading First" program cronyism? Is it the way the system works?

As someone who has been in the college teaching profession (granted on the low end of adjunct, lecturer, or TA), I have seen that textbooks are a racket, albeit a racket in a free market. They are out to make money, while teachers and administrators are not supposed to care about money, at least not for themselves. So, is it cronyism when schools take on curriculum guides and texts that their administrators push, when those administrators have ties to publishing houses? Sure, it is, especially when those administrators get kick backs. What about the cronyism of not coming through with funding for schools? There are those in office who vote to cut funding, and many of those votes are based on the officials' obligations to lobbyists. How can we criticize programs like "Reading First" or Affirmative Action when the funding and support has been so fleeting and inconsistent? How can people promote materials with any validity if they are in bed with the publishers?

To the point, finally. We have fault on several ends here, people. We can't make good decisions when we do not account for these conflicts of interest. We can't make good decisions when we do not have reliable evidence and when we don't give things more than a year to work out. We can't make up a program to close the achievement gap between black and white students that will work within a year because the underlying causes run much deeper than how we teach reading in the first grade. Let's stop the double handed blaming education for societal failures and relying on it to solve the social issues we face when it is one of the many cogs in the giant machine of the United States.

I think the question of cronyism is a good one and one that we need to address when we get proposals for funding, for cuts, and for "the answer to the problem." We also need to get real about the purpose and scope of schools. And, let's hear from more than publishing companies with their hands in the cookie jars, politicians, school board fat cats, and President Bush about what works in schools. Um, when was the last time they were in schools for other than product placement and election photo shots?