Ryan, a teachers union activist from Spokane, and I enjoy debating on the blogosphere about how to improve public schools. In his latest critique of my work, available here, he uses the image of Lily Tomlin’s character, Ernestine. Ernestine was the wisecracking, snorting telephone operator from At&T on the 1960’s comedy TV show The Laugh-In.

Ryan’s choice of Ernestine is brilliantly ironic. Ernestine works for a monopoly, AT&T. She is famous for dismissing customer complaints with “We don’t care, we don’t have to…we’re the phone company.”

Parents often get a similar response from the education establishment, and teachers tell me they feel the same way.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal had a great article by Deborah Kenny, founder and CEO of Harlem Village Academies, “A Teacher Quality Manifesto.” Ms. Kenny says that to keep quality teachers, schools need to stop treating teachers like industrial-era workers and start treating them like professionals. Successful schools create cultures of learning excellence, where teachers choose their textbooks, work closely with their principals to make important school-wide decisions, and are not overly bothered with administrative work. Teachers are allowed the freedom to do their jobs. Managers in such a culture do not mandate curriculum and micromanage their teachers. They set goals and then get out of the way.

Here is how a math teacher describes working in such a culture affected his teaching: “I was merely competent until I came here. Now I have clear goals and my good ideas are recognized and valued.” A veteran art teacher said, “The culture changed my entire attitude.” A science teacher said “I used to feel stagnant at work, but here our physical needs are met so quickly and our emotional and intellectual needs are taken so seriously. I get more done in a day than I used to accomplish in a month.”

How can we create such cultures? Give principals the authority and control they need - see our education reform plan.

Kudos Ryan, and thank you for reminding me about the inimitable Lily Tomlin and her funny telephone tagline: “Is this the party to whom I’m speaking?”