Morning Joe Tries to Set Great Expectations

So this is the part where I will admit to having a huge crush on Joe Scarborough.

And while we are neither aligned politically nor philosophically, until this morning's three-hour show devoted entirely to the topic of education reform, the man could do no wrong.

Broadcast live from the Alexander Elementary School's cafeteria in Tampa, Florida, "Great Expectations" (full episode: see above) was a veritable who's who of the political world: Joel Klein, Jeb Bush, Cory Booker, Michael Bloomberg, Al Sharpton-even John Legend, the singer/songwriter and charter school advocate, made an appearance.

But what was sorely lacking in the morning's lineup were actual teachers. Not politicians, not movers and shakers, but actual educators whose workday is spent in a classroom.

To her credit, co-host Mika Brzezinski eventually solicited questions from the audience of over 200 local educators. But it was a bit of a strange thing to behold, when educators began asking the panel of politicians and television news anchors about how to fix our broken schools.

Here's an idea, maybe in their next town hall, Joe and Mika can moderate a discussion that includes teachers at the forefront of the discussion rather than so far outside the periphery.