A former United States Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, and a former Chancellor of the New York school system, Joel I Klein, are the headliners in issuance of an "independent task force" report that can be seen by clicking on the following link: Education reform and national security report.
Klein is a knowledgeable attorney and political insider, Rice has great expertise in national security and foreign relations and as a provost at Stanford she has expertise in higher education. This report like it predecessor of nearly 30 years ago known as the "Nation at Risk" report demonstrates that as was the case with the earlier authors neither lead author of this new report has a deep understanding of K-12 education or its purpose in a democratic nation.
Some of the members of the commission that constructed the new report objected strenously to findings contained in it. Rather than withdraw from the group's work, these educators filed dissenting comments as part of the final report. I urge readers to checkout Valerie Strauss'"Answer Sheet" blog posted on March 21 in which she highlights some of the comments by these dissenters. Click on the link in the right hand column of this posting to locate the "Answer Sheet."
There are indeed problems with education. The solutions adocated in this latest report linking educational shortcomings to national security are not the solutions that are needed.
Indeed, if we persist in pursuing the actions recommended we will become a nation at risk.
Klein is a knowledgeable attorney and political insider, Rice has great expertise in national security and foreign relations and as a provost at Stanford she has expertise in higher education. This report like it predecessor of nearly 30 years ago known as the "Nation at Risk" report demonstrates that as was the case with the earlier authors neither lead author of this new report has a deep understanding of K-12 education or its purpose in a democratic nation.
Some of the members of the commission that constructed the new report objected strenously to findings contained in it. Rather than withdraw from the group's work, these educators filed dissenting comments as part of the final report. I urge readers to checkout Valerie Strauss'"Answer Sheet" blog posted on March 21 in which she highlights some of the comments by these dissenters. Click on the link in the right hand column of this posting to locate the "Answer Sheet."
There are indeed problems with education. The solutions adocated in this latest report linking educational shortcomings to national security are not the solutions that are needed.
Indeed, if we persist in pursuing the actions recommended we will become a nation at risk.
