Obama Remarks on Teachers, Education Jolt Establishment

President Obama’s blunt but little-noted statement last week that bad teachers need to be fired and that some fellow Democrats resist real change in public schools has jolted educators and education critics alike.

“It was unusual for a Democratic president to say that,” said Cynthia G. Brown, director of education policy for the liberal Center for American Progress. “I applauded when I watched him say it on television.”