The poor state of American public education draws attention from two Newsweek columnists this week.

The subheadline of Anna Quindlen?s latest column notes: ?A teacher who is psyched about engaging struggling students learns that bureaucracy is more important than pedagogy.? The actual column about fired Indiana teacher Connie Heermann also includes this summary:

[I]t’s really a cautionary tale about what’s too often the ruling principle in American public education: the timidity and inefficiency of powerful bureaucracies far removed from the daily lives of either teachers or kids.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Alter aims his literary assault at ?Paleolithic? teachers? unions, ?ready to pounce on any challenge to the failed system they dominate.?

[T]eachers unions, for all their lip service, don’t believe their members should be judged on performance. They still believe that protecting incompetents is more important than educating children.

Alter?s on the right track when he recommends steps that would stop teachers from blocking necessary accountability measures. But neither Quindlen nor Alter addresses an even better idea: allowing more parents to vote with their feet through school choice.