By LEWIS M. ANDREWS, Wall Street Journal
The technological transformation of education has wide-ranging political implications. Blended learning may not eliminate the need for classroom instructors, but it will reduce the numbers required. Over time, the reduction will significantly reduce the amount of dues raised by teachers unions—and therefore the influence of one of the most liberal constituencies within the Democrat Party. It will also reduce the manpower available at election time to canvass neighborhoods, cover phone banks and drive people to the voting booth in support of left-leaning candidates. Teachers unions nationally rebel against the demands of school reformers for more accountability. Disputed issues such as student testing, merit pay and teacher evaluations seem at first glance to have nothing to do with Internet instruction. Yet the demands for better student performance clearly pave the way for blended-learning environments involving smaller and more productive staffs. The economics of digital learning will undermine the liberal biases built into the current education system.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323353204578127142174902184.html
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