In response to an inquiry from the AVID Center concerning the most important and controversial K-12 educational issues in the next five years, I responded as follows:
Among the compelling issues in American education today--educational measurements, teacher qualifications, and the like--the most critical and overarching is parental empowerment through school choice. Look at your own education: I 'm sure you'd agree that the home more than the school has had a far greater impact on your life. I would say this is true even if you had no traditional home. The impact of that situation has shaped you more than anything else. More parental participation in schools--without the numerous restrictions imposed on parents by schools boards and teacher unions--would go a long way toward improving the educational system. Not educational scholars like me, not university academics in graduate schools of education, and certainly not politicians and media pundits--just parents advocating for their children in the schools and involving themselves in school activities. And I do not mean bake sales; I mean questioning flawed curricula, truncated instructional time, and unconcerned tenured teachers.
To learn more about the AVID Center, which describes itself as an international non-profit educational reform organization, visit www.avidonline.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment