Who's Asking What Teachers Think?

This piece in EdWeek caught my eye yesterday: Margaret Spellings is recruiting a team of teachers (5 full-time and 20 part-time) to help refine proposals for changes in education policy at the Dept. of Education starting in the fall. Two thoughts:

1. Wow. Seems like a great idea. Though, to be cynical, anybody could find 25 teachers that agree with their favorite policy proposal if they wanted to (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that's not what they're doing until I hear otherwise).

2. What momentous changes, exactly, is the Bush administration planning on making in his last few months in office? It's great that they have current teachers to comment on the feasibility of their ideas, but it's hard to believe that they'll have time to implement many of their ideas.