Sentences with phrase «defender of the status quo»

One of the weapons used by defenders of the status quo is to set high hurdles for innovations.

They became professors because they were excellent students, and although, they are supposed to be intellectually curious, academics often tend to be stubborn defenders of the status quo.

That, of course, doesn't always sit well with defenders of the status quo.

Brown hopes his reworked constitutional package might neuter some of the anger over MPs» expenses, re-engage voters with politics and leave the Tories as defenders of the status quo and opposed to giving voters a choice on democracy in a referendum.

«He is clearly an ally of the teachers union and a staunch defender of the status quo in education,» said C.J. Szafir, vice president for policy and deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

As the debate over school choice heats up once again, in the halls of Congress and in many state capitals, a favorite gambit of defenders of the status quo is to damn such changes as «sure to undermine public education» or «bad for the public schools.»

The proposal drew widespread support from the public, but Virginia's 38 % reduction target set off howls of protest from defenders of the status quo.

And though the teachers» unions and other staunch defenders of the status quo have resisted it, most reformers (on both the left and the right) have since come to accept the idea that academic performance — as measured by achievement tests, completion rates, and international comparisons, rather than by spending, intentions, or equity of access — should be the principal benchmark for assessing the success or failure of American schools.

But the nub of the case for defenders of the status quo was that elections do not enhance, but limit democracy: The key to democracy is found in the assurance of diversity, not of views but of physical characteristics.

The result is that, as our nation has struggled to improve its public schools, the teacher unions have emerged as the fiercest, most powerful defenders of the status quo, and the single greatest obstacle to the reform of American education.

He called the Speaker a «dogged defender of the status quo» yesterday.

Imagine, then, their great surprise when defenders of the status quo, who included some of the leading political scientists in the nation, instructed them in no uncertain terms that devices like competitive elections, labeled «procedural democracy,» counted as next to nothing in comparison to «substantive democracy.»

In an email to Democratic donor Jeffrey Leeds on July 26, 2014, Powell wrote that he would rather not vote for his «friend» Clinton because she's a greedy defender of the status quo whose husband is «still d — king bimbos at home (according to the NYP).»

Ironically, they find themselves far stronger defenders of the status quo than the visiting members of the Lords who come to address them.

«We often see governors run as reformers in their first terms, and in their second terms become defenders of the status quo - because they become the status quo,» said Horner.

Rather than being a «vigorous defender of the status quo», as Lawton states, the Salt Institute is very...

«Many people think of local teachers union presidents as fist - pounding defenders of the status quo.

At a time when a fundamental overhaul of American education is sorely needed, school boards and their associations have emerged as doughty defenders of the status quo.

Full - fledged opposition would have put them on the wrong side and pegged them as self - interested defenders of the status quo.

They amount to a big financial inequity whose consequences union leaders and defenders of the status quo try to minimize.

In their glib self - confidence, the champions of that effort have refused to confront its costs and unintended consequences, and have been far too quick to silence skeptics by branding them blind defenders of the status quo (if not calling them outright racists).

To learn more about how educational choice benefits students — and how defenders of the status quo are attempting to use the courts to deprive families of that choice — watch the Cato Institute's short documentary, «Live Free and Learn»:

It charts the transformation of the Democratic elite, starting with President Obama, from knee - jerk defenders of the status quo to full - throated reform advocates.

«If Supt. Torlakson's statement is accurate, the Obama administration is correctly poised to deny California's petition because legislators and defenders of the status quo refuse to create the appropriate learning environment so that every kid is given a chance to succeed,» its statement said Friday.

We are disappointed with the way this round of PSC has devolved from a nationally recognized reform effort to a process where defenders of the status quo have sought to sideline external operators with proven ability to serve students, including charter schools.

Defenders of the status quo fear charter schools because they see them as a threat to funding for conventional public schools, even ones that fail to educate students.

«Defenders of the status quo like to paint me as a «voucher only proponent,» but the truth is I've long - supported public charter schools as a quality option for students.»

A weak tenure system has led to a weak pathway for overall professional growth and recognition within the teaching profession, playing into misconceptions of teachers and teacher unions as entitled defenders of the status quo.

Villaraigosa, in turn, called the union «the biggest defender of the status quo.»

What defenders of the status quo seem not to understand is that for many school reformers, transforming education is as much a moral imperative as it is an intellectual pursuit and even an economic livelihood.

we have been in a battle of the bulge scenario for the last 6 months, the great counterattack of the harried defenders of the status quo — but what stands out most is how ineffectual the counterattack has been.

Defenders of the status quo point to regulatory concerns — namely those surrounding solicitor - client privilege and the potential for conflicts of interest that can arise from multi-disciplinary service offerings.

Defenders of the status quo in education routinely label certain proposed reforms — including tax credits, voucher programs, for - profit education management organizations (or EMOs), and charter schooling — as «anti-public education,» often to great effect.

The «parallel system» approach to chartering's future rests on two mistaken assumptions: first, that by simply creating new schools and not purposely antagonizing the traditional system, chartering wouldn't attract the ire of defenders of the status quo; and second, that if chartering proved successful and popular, the sky was the limit on growth.

By openly acknowledging the shortcomings of public schools and embracing innovation, he became a much more credible and effective voice for public education than the NEA or other defenders of the status quo.

Them justice secretary is reversing many of the worst elements of Chris Grayling's reign - but powerful defenders of the status quo will come after him eventually

We often hear of the «reformers» who want to use student test scores to identify and fire the lowest - performing teachers, and conversely, the teachers» unions who are painted as defenders of the status quo.

He has accused Mr Martin of being a «dogged defender of the status quo», and a major obstacle to greater «transparency and accountability» in the expenses system.

Unfortunately for Van Roekel and other staunch defenders of the status quo, it is now 2013 and the old data are no longer accurate.

A defender of the status quo may reply that there is nothing wrong with that.

Samuel Gompers expressed the trade unionist's lack of confidence in ministers accusing them of being apologists and defenders of the status quo and of using «their exalted positions to discourage and discountenance all practical efforts of the toilers to lift themselves out of the slough of despondency and despair.»

Neither the defenders of the status quo nor those proposing major changes in education policy have achieved a public - opinion breakthrough in 2013.

The fundamental idea behind the parent trigger is to effect an unapologetic transfer of raw political power from the defenders of the status quo to parents, which is necessary because parents have wholly different incentive structures and a far greater sense of urgency than those who hold the power in the education system.