Bedlam calls

Who's the dunce now, heh?

Updating this post, we learn today:

A Florida education official says the state’s education commissioner will resign because of allegations he changed a charter school’s grade during his previous job as Indiana’s school chief.

The official told The Associated Press of Tony Bennett’s resignation on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to disclose the information before a formal announcement. The official says Bennett will resign because of the scandal surrounding Christel House Academy, an Indiana charter school run by a major Republican donor.

I like Melissa Harris-Perry, so don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way:  earlier this week, sitting in for Rachel Maddow, Ms. Harris-Perry declared that Bennett had gotten away with something, because no way was he gonna be held responsible in Florida for what he did in Indiana.

I'm sure a great deal of crowing over this victory will now ensue, from many corners.

But will anyone take up the discussion of why and how we "grade" schools in the first place?  Will anyone consider that "grading systems" are not handed down from Sinai on graven tablets, and carry with them all that is necessary to implement an assessment of schools in a given area, and determine which are "good" and which are "bad" on an objective and therefore true and can be trusted basis?

Or do we just go back to status quo, and the "scalp" of Tony Bennett, deserved or not ("Well, we got him for something!") proves we need no further inquiry?

I'll retire to Bedlam....