The Central Falls story

MANIFESTO

Now that the

Rhode Island school that attracted nationwide attention in February for its decision to fire its entire staff has reached a tentative agreement to rehire them,

it's interesting to see the shakeout.

Certainly, BO and Education Secretary Arne Duncan looked (and look) like fools in this episode with their "just fire 'em all" accountability nonsense in the poorest town in Little Rhody.

But the most interesting reaction seems to me to be the students', who

were questioning the wisdom of a School Department that had been so willing to fire an entire staff of teachers, many of whom “have a better bond with us than parents,” said sophomore Jaimeelee Velasquez, 15.

“It’s not the teachers,” said 18-year-old junior Jon Osorio. “It’s the students who need to do [the work], too.” Teachers “can’t hold our hands all our lives.”

His friend, Bryan Gaviria, 17, agreed: “Teachers can’t do nothing more. It’s up to you to do your work and study for your quizzes.”

You hear that, you Harvard/Yale/University of Chicago cloistered duo? Even high school students can figure out that teaching is more than a pass-fail enterprise.