Manhattan (Nov. 14) -- The real problem in public education is the "culture of protection, not performance."

So said author and entrepreneur Steven Brill, who spoke last evening in mid-town Manhattan at a gathering sponsored by the organization Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (DL21C).

Mr. Brill authored the bestselling book "Class Warfare" which has been discussed on The Chalkboard (here and here). He returned to several of those themes during his discussion, which began in an interview format with Gotham Schools reporter Geoff Decker, and was followed by questions from the audience made up of a mix of educators and policy folk.

Mr. Brill reiterated his observation in the book that teaching is "very hard" and good teachers work extremely hard, which makes it all the more absurd that quality teachers are not recognized and rewarded apart from others. Instead, the detailed and voluminous union contracts collectively bargained do not enable distinctions necessary to reward the most effective teachers and celebrate talent rather than civil service protection. The result is that the teaching "minority undermines and demoralizes the majority."

The questions from the audience revealed some tension at times since at least several came from teachers in the New York City district schools and therefore members of the United Federation of Teachers. Mr. Brill's mix of praising teachers while criticizing the union is a difficult juxtaposition for some.

Election Calendar Causing Ed Reform Lapse
On the political front, I came away with sense that so much of the optimism and promise of education reform that is described and chronicled in Mr. Brill's book is now grinding to a halt, at least temporarily, as the presidential campaign season is in full swing. For example, while then-Senator Barack Obama's education reform credentials are discussed in the book, and retained early in his presidency with the creation and implementation of his signature Race to the Top program, Mr. Brill said that now "Obama has folded like a tent" on reform issues. He cites the president's jobs bill pending before Congress which includes billions of dollars for hiring new teachers with "no conditions" or reform strings attached.

President Obama "needs" the teachers union for re-election, which has him "lapsing into a defensive crouch," according to Mr. Brill. Further evidence of this was that Race to the Top in at least of one-third of the states is not being implemented as promised, with New York being "a laughingstock." The president, he said, should sue the state to get its RttT money back, which would make a positive impression on many independent voters.

Regarding New York's teacher evaluation, which was a key component in its successful RttT application to the federal government, Mr. Brill more descriptively echoed a point first made in his book "Class Warfare," He said that UFT president Michael Mulgrew "played [the state] like a violin" by negotiating a large loophole in the evaluation system by having it all be subject to collective bargaining. Evidence on this point about the system's loopholes is sadly becoming more manifest.

System-wide Reform
While many more topics were discussed, it's worth a final mention that Mr. Brill maintained that system-wide reform does indeed require working with the teacher unions as a practical matter. That, in turn, requires tough and committed individuals, such as Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, to be on the other side to push the unions toward real education reform.

Regardless of who is chancellor (Joel Klein has at least those same qualities as Ms. Weingarten), it requires elected leaders, unafraid of the election cycle, to have their appointees' back when they are in a fight to push the unions in a needed reform direction.

Such officials, unfortunately, are in limited supply.

Peter Murphy
for The Chalkboard
Twitter: @PeterMurphy26
Facebook: Chalkboard Nycsa