Why choice is good for teachers: traditionalists and progressives coexist warily in today's public schools, creating fragmented institutions with no common ethos. Letting teachers start their own schools may bring an end to the pedagogical holy wars.

From: Education Next | Date: January 1, 2004| Author: Ferrero, David J. | Copyright information

THREE YEARS AGO I VISITED AN ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW England. It is a terrific place--small, personalized, staffed by deeply committed teachers, and attended by students who seem to approach learning with enthusiasm. Nearly all of its graduates go on to college. Everyone affiliated with the school loves it. I wish more places like it existed across the country.

But I wouldn't want to teach there.

This school is avowedly progressive, with a project-based...

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