For those who questioned whether Obama’s education policy would be any different than his predecessor’s, wonder no more: on Saturday, workers tore down the little red schoolhouse over at the Department of Education.
Yes, gone is the structure that for seven years stood at the agency’s entrance, always looking a bit ridiculous, like a PBS set that fell off the Tourmobile. The Obama administration considers its dismantling a symbol of policy changes to come and a break from the No Child Left Behind era.
But isn’t it a bit hasty to completely disassemble the schoolhouse and ship it off to some government storage facility? What happened to the new austerity? Reduce, reuse, recycle? The structure would make an excellent backyard clubhouse for the Obama girls. Or the White House could ditch plans for a congressional luau and host a hoe-down in the schoolhouse instead. It could even be modified to serve as a literal doghouse for vice presidents administrative officials who speak out of school. Down with government waste! Up with cheesy little red schoolhouses!