Rumors abound that the United Federation of Teachers not only expressed an interest in having 20/20 (ABC News) correspondent John Stossel as a guest speaker at one of its conferences this winter but also once considered honoring him with its coveted John Dewey Award. Both of those may be off the table now, in the wake of his blistering report last Friday night on the state of public education in America. See the report, "Stupid In America: How We Cheat Our Kids" here. UFT President Randi Weingarten doesn't come off particularly well in the piece, especially when she suggested at one point that anyone who offers criticism of the school system doesn't care about kids. (In Weingarten's defense, the format of 20/20 interviews usually means that the absolute goofiest thing a person says makes it to the air, while scores of other more down-to-earth comments end up on the cutting room floor.)

Not a lot new in the report for those who are seasoned veterans in education reform battles (or who read my new book with a similar title.) But Stossel has created quite a firestorm. The National Education Association, using "research" culled by the New Jersey Education Association, is emailing supporters to trash Stossel for speaking before groups that get money from the conservative Bradley Foundation, of Milwaukee. Thousands of people have even posted their responses to the report on Stossel's message board. Those responses are must-reads for anyone who wonders how polarized the education debate has become, as well as how frustratingly devoid of any serious substance commentators on both sides of the issue can be.

Worth noting: The New York City Department of Education appears to be so distraught about what happens inside its public school buildings that it refused to let Stossel and his crew inside any of its public classrooms. (In the city's defense, Washington DC allowed cameras into one of its best public high schools and found a history teacher using the game Monopoly to show that some nations are wealthier than others. Those DC kids understood what a complete joke the adults in charge of their education were and this "good" class was out of control.) Instead, we settle in NYC for interviews with city high school students outside their schools, where they describe their teachers as boring and incompetent. One NYC kid reported that his teacher told his students that he was only there for the health benefits. It makes for good stinging commentary, but if the public wants to get to the bottom of this mess it needs to understand just how bad (or good) its classroom instruction is.