I’ve said it before, and I suspect I’ll have to say it again, but something seems to happen to the ordinarily thoughtful and even-handed New York Times columnist David Brooks when he writes about education issues. Robert Pondiscio wrote about this awhile back in his post, When Bad Ideas Happen to Good Columnists.

Brooks’ column today (Smells Like School Spirit) was certainly a bad idea, and many thoughtful people in the education world have responded. Here are the best responses so far:

You certainly don’t have to go far by just looking at many of the comments on Brooks’ article on the New York Times website.

Smells Like. . .Another Strawman Argument is from P.T. Thomas.

David Brooks: C’mon Feel That Invigorating Moral Culture, baby! comes from Cedar’s Digest.

The incentives are critical, but they’re not responsible for critical choices is by Sherman Dorn.

Diane Ravitch has written a response to David Brooks’ column.

As always, feedback is welcome.

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