"Mr. Stern's criticisms can be irksome to members of the city's Education Department, but they are heard.

"Sol is a pundit, and pundits have lots of ideas," said David Cantor, a spokesman for the department. "Some of his have been helpful."

Despite his obvious appetite for stirring controversy, Mr. Stern can sound as though he is on the edge of despair.

"We've been arguing about the same things for the last 10 years," he said. "Sometimes I tell my friends that I have fallen into the trap of writing about the two most intractable problems in the world: American education and the Middle East."

" (NYT)