A Brazilian Mistake Clear as Glass

It's become clearer than a shot of cachaca that Jason Glass' recent trip to Brazil was a mistake.

The state's education department director jetted to Rio de Janeiro earlier this month for a conference sponsored by the Council of Chief School Officers and underwritten by the Pearson Foundation. The foundation is an arm of Pearson, a big testing assessment company that does millions of dollars worth of business with the state.

Should top state officials go on spendy trips sponsored, even indirectly, by companies that stand to gain mightily from state contracts? Of course not. Glass may strenuously protest, but this is ethics 101.

The “chief learner,” as Glass calls himself, could learn a big lesson by reading the news for, I don't know, 30 seconds. Flash - Americans don't trust government. They think bureaucrats are only slightly more trustworthy than three-card monte dealers in an alley. Glass can defiantly, even truthfully, explain his thirst for knowledge and proclaim his driven-snow purity, but fed up folks just don't want to hear it.

And unless he hiked into the Brazilian mountains, turned over a rock and found the lost secret of high-performing schools, this trip simply wasn't worth it. A guy who will play a critical role selling school reform at the Statehouse just burned precious political capital he'll need over the next seven months on seven days in South America. For those of us who want real change, it's a frustrating unforced error.

Cedar Rapids Community Schools Superintendent Dave Benson pointed out recently that the dramatic change Glass and Gov. Terry Branstad want to make in teacher pay, etc., probably means making “significant” changes to collective bargaining laws in Iowa. Opening up Chapter 20, the lockbox where those laws are kept, would be an epic battle.

And now, the lead generals in that fight are governor double-dip and director de Janeiro. Too harsh? I guess maybe you expect school reform to be won by paddycakes on the playground. For another view, see Christie, Gov. Chris.

Still, I don't expect the formal ethics complaint leveled at Glass to go far. Being an elected official in Iowa accused of an ethical lapse is sort of like getting a parking ticket. Except the parking ticket carries a penalty. I suspect Glass will get a strongly worded letter urging him to be more careful in the future.

So he'll have to skip the next big Hawaiian conference on high-performing teachers who drink Kona coffee, or the Versailles Palace symposium on school infrastructure, or maybe the big school lunch exposition in Bologna, Italy. Ciao.

Glass will need to stay grounded. No worries. There will still be plenty of turbulence.

ONLINE BONUS -- Musical version.

Maybe you like your commentary more like a samba, that swings so cool and sways so gentle. OK, this is for you

"The Wonk from Iowa" (To the tune of "The Girl from Ipanema")

Midwestern pale and young and brainy, the wonk from Iowa goes traveling

And when Glass travels, back home his critics go - wha?

When he flies off down to Rio, insisting that it's not a real big dealio

But business bidders, with bids for bidding go – aah

Ooh...But he's the chief learner, how can he learn without Rio?

Yes, he will travel so gladly

But each time he goes over the sea, it looks really bad ethically

Midwestern pale and young and brainy, the wonk from Iowa goes jetting

And when travels we cringe, but he doesn't see.

No, he just doesn't see.

Yeah, I know. Couldn't resist.