When Academy Award winners, especially ones who have made a killing playing action-heroes, talk about public policy issues, people tend to pay attention. Damon is using his star power to help his mother, who teaches early-childhood education at Boston’s Lesley University, protest many of today’s education reform initiatives. He made news last summer when he appeared with her at an anti-No Child Left Behind rally in Washington and talked about how the law has made teachers feel so beaten down (surveys show that’s not the case) and how underpaid they are (teacher compensation is a complicated issue that doesn’t lend itself to blanket statements.) The video of Damon losing his cool at the rally with a reporter from Reason.tv — who didn’t know what she was talking about either — quickly went viral. Damon and his mom, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, made headlines again this month when they declined to accept an award from the National Education Association because its president, Dennis Van Roekel, had the temerity to coauthor an op-ed with Teach For America founder (and 11 for ’11 activist) Wendy Kopp about improving teacher quality. In a letter to Van Roekel, Carlsson-Paige decried his “collaboration” with Kopp, and anti-TFA activists lapped it up. So while much of the education world wants more collaboration and less vitriol, Damon seems to be going the other way with his educational Bourne Ultimatums.
School of Thought: 12 Education Activists for 2012
What do an old-school game designer, the NCAA chief and Maggie Gyllenhaal have in common? They're all on TIME's list of the 12 education activists to watch in 2012. Those named to TIME’s 11 for '11 made waves last year, and this next group will too — for good or ill
Matt Damon: The Mama’s Boy
Full List
Education Activists
- Catharine Bellinger and Alexis Morin: The Students
- Matt Damon: The Mama’s Boy
- John Danner: The Tech Guy
- Arne Duncan: The Secretary
- Mark Emmert: The Referee
- Aimee Guidera: The Data Driver
- Maggie Gyllenhaal: The Star
- Kaya Henderson: The Superintendent
- John Hunter: The Inspiration
- Ariela Rozman: The Operator
- Ron Tomalis: The Keystone
- Randi Weingarten: The Unionist