I’ve had good things to say about work by both Kati Haycock's Education Trust and, of course, my friends at the Economic Policy Institute. But I’ve also questioned some of the Education Trust’s proposals on teacher policy, and defended EPI’s Richard Rothstein from the charge that he’s an enabler of the achievement gap.  Haycock and Rothstein have become almost living symbols of different perspectives on NCLB, accountability and helping at risk kids.

The two of them appeared last month at a conference in Albany put on by the New York State United Teachers on closing said achievement gap. They were both in fine form, and while it wasn’t a debate per se, you could see them responding to the other's work in their presentation. In the  spirit of the conference, rather than try to find a synthesis or throw my interpretation at you, I'll just ask you to watch ‘em both and think about what we should be doing that we aren't doing now. (Click on the pictures to go right to the presentations).

The NYSUT web site has video from other speakers as well, including NYSUT President Richard Ianuzzi, Donna Brazile, Richard Mills, Pedro Noguera and James Crawford.  There is a lot to see, and a lot to think about.