Not a huge fan of Huffington Post — have the phone app and read it occasionally — but Bill Maher’s comedic piece on firing teachers works pretty well. While there’s some objectionable content, his summary of the American response to the Rhode Island teacher firings is spot on:

But isn’t it convenient that once again it turns out that the problem isn’t us, and the fix is something that doesn’t require us to change our behavior or spend any money. It’s so simple: Fire the bad teachers, hire good ones from some undisclosed location, and hey, while we’re at it let’s cut taxes more. It’s the kind of comprehensive educational solution that could only come from a completely ignorant people.

I also love that he cites Whitney Houston, whose line about children being the future (Sexual Chocolate), I’ve explicitly banned my students from using. Which seems silly but before I started mentioning it, I’d get three to four essays a semester where students knowingly or unknowingly referred to this song.