蜜桃影视

A version of this essay originally appeared on the .

I gasped as I opened the op-ed section of The New York Times and read repudiating his regressive stance on public charter schools. Until he entered the Democratic presidential nominating contest, Booker was one of the nation鈥檚 most eloquent supporters for school choice, with his hometown of Newark the proof point for the impact of a high-quality charter sector on a struggling school system. But when he entered the primary, he hopped on the Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren anti-choice wagon, dissolving into a vegan mush of (un)progressive platitudes. Something鈥檚 changed. He wrote:

鈥淸I]t is largely up to Democrats 鈥� especially those of us in this presidential primary race 鈥� to have a better discussion about practical K-12 solutions to ensure that every child in our country can go to a great public school. That discussion needs to include high-achieving public charter schools when local communities call for them.

鈥淢any public charter schools have proved to be an effective, targeted tool to give children with few other options a chance to succeed.鈥�

My reaction to this (laudable) about-face swung from 鈥渇inally Booker is owning the remarkable upswing in student achievement in Newark, largely due to the impact of its best-in-the-nation sector of charter schools (like I told him to!)鈥� to 鈥渨hy the hell did he wait till now to call out the other candidates on their union-pandering opposition鈥� to 鈥渂oy, was he poorly advised鈥� when, responding to a question about charter schools at a , he said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing an assault on education that is outrageous and unacceptable.鈥�

So what鈥檚 the real deal? What persuaded Booker to own his educational legacy in Newark, one that has transformed one of the worst school districts to the No. 1 city in America for 鈥溾�� high-poverty, high-performance schools by the Center on Reinventing Public Education?

Here are nine guesses.

鈼徛�Booker doesn鈥檛 have a snowball鈥檚 chance in hell of winning the nomination. So maybe he鈥檚 reconsidering his decision to align himself with front-runners Sanders/Warren (Joe Biden鈥檚 far less strident) who disavow schools that the majority of black and brown families support.

鈼徛�When he commutes back to Newark, the increasing numbers of pro-choice residents (in April, the one even endorsed by former charter hater Mayor Ras Baraka) get in his face. Newarkers are not shy: They speak truth to power. Maybe he listened.

鈼徛�Maybe he鈥檚 also started listening to analysts like of the Brookings Institution, who said in August that Booker is 鈥渒ind of caught between a rock and a hard place鈥� when boxed in by 鈥渢he mantle of progressive Democrats,鈥� but by distancing himself from charter schools, he鈥檚 鈥渆ssentially distancing himself from his record in Newark.鈥�

鈼徛�Maybe he鈥檚 noted the led by a powerful coalition of black and Latino parents and education advocates from around the country, who are raising money for a trip to meet with Warren to share how her recently unveiled anti-charter education plan gets it all wrong for children of color.

鈼徛�Maybe he鈥檚 aware of the backlash against New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who, with the cooperation of Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet, has instituted a charter school moratorium despite the 35,000 children on charter waiting lists.

鈼徛�Maybe he realizes that, despite his best efforts to erase a legacy he should highlight, teachers unions are never going to support him. Example: Diane Ravitch鈥檚 Network for Public Education (an echo chamber for the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers) for his stance on charter schools. (,鈥� despite her previous support for school choice; 鈥�; and because he鈥檚 associated with that radical privatizer Barack Obama.)

鈼徛�Speaking of President Obama, last week at the 鈥渨oke鈥� culture, this 鈥渋dea of purity and you鈥檙e never comprised.鈥� The world, he told young people at a forum, is 鈥渕essy; there are ambiguities. 鈥� People who you are fighting may love their kids and share certain things with you. 鈥� That鈥檚 not activism. That鈥檚 not bringing about change.鈥� So maybe Obama鈥檚 wisdom ignited Booker鈥檚 epiphany that Dems damage both their brand and their chances of ousting Donald Trump from the White House by aping his 鈥渦s vs. them鈥� rhetoric. (Yes, mein kinder, I鈥檝e already seen Hannah鈥檚 鈥溾�� T-shirt.)

鈼徛�Maybe he鈥檚 watched Warren reverse her support for charters and public school accountability and realized that, as the , such a platform 鈥渋s a plan for serving adult interests and not student needs.鈥� Maybe he鈥檚 watched Sanders, as, 鈥渢ell black parents, who overwhelmingly support charters, that they can鈥檛 send their kids to charters anymore.鈥� Maybe the role of Faust doesn鈥檛 suit him as well as it does other Democratic hopefuls.

鈼徛�Maybe he鈥檚 actually , who, according to a 2019 poll by the , 鈥渁re the strongest supporters of charter schools, because charter schools are finally making a free, high-quality education available in neighborhoods that were shamefully neglected by the education establishment.鈥� Hey, maybe he had a campaign operative at this past summer鈥檚 NJ Parent Summit who heard tell me, 鈥淧arents need options. It is our right as parents to choose the strongest schools in our community for each of our children.鈥� And who heard tell me, 鈥淲hen I was growing up, I lost so many friends to the gangs and the streets. Our kids have got a chance now.鈥� And who heard tell me, 鈥淭eachers are there to teach, right? It鈥檚 up to parents to make sure our children are having the best possible educational experience.鈥� Or , who told me (of his daughter with disabilities at KIPP), 鈥淚 know that if she were in a different school, she would get into trouble less, but she鈥檇 also learn less because the bar is so low.鈥� Or (a Newark school board member), who told me, 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about adults and their politics. It鈥檚 about our children.鈥�

Here鈥檚 the thing: When Sanders/Warren get up there and talk dirt about charter schools in order to endear themselves to union lobbyists, they are distinctly unwoke. They are painting over the messiness and ambiguities of public education to satisfy adults. They are turning their backs on a growing segment of the Democratic Party that supports school choice. They are, as Chris Stewart says, genuflecting 鈥渢o the public relations departments of America鈥檚 national teachers unions.鈥�

They are proposing policies that will damage the futures of children who live in cities like Newark and Los Angeles and Chicago and Boston and Philadelphia.

This doesn鈥檛 seem very 鈥減rogressive鈥� to me, or Democratic. In fact, it seems akin to the Trumpian 鈥渂uild that wall鈥� canard that provokes applause from the unwoke.

We should be better than that.

Booker wrote,

鈥淭he Democratic Party is at its best when we lead with the conviction, above all else, to help people. We fall short of that when we race to embrace poll-tested positions that may help us avoid being yelled at on the internet by an unrepresentative few but don鈥檛 reflect the impossible choices many low-income families face.鈥�

We鈥檙e not at our best right now, union endorsements aside. It鈥檚 too late for Booker, but I鈥檇 like to imagine that if he had stuck to his authentic education platform from the start, he鈥檇 be closer to the center of the stage. Perhaps the winner will have the smarts to be the true progressive who does more than pay lip service to our most disenfranchised Americans (maybe with Booker as VP?).

If not, there鈥檚 always 2024.

Laura Waters writes about education policy and politics at NJ Left Behind, New York School Talk, Education Post, and other publications. She served for 12 years on her local school board in Lawrence, New Jersey, and was president for nine of those years.

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