EDITORIAL EDUCATION REVOLUTION BIG MONEY AND SMALL REFORMS AREN'T ENOUGH TO FIX OUR SCHOOLS.THE set of reports released this week from Stanford University Stanford University, at Stanford, Calif.; coeducational; chartered 1885, opened 1891 as Leland Stanford Junior Univ. (still the legal name). The original campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. David Starr Jordan was its first president. on fixing California's public education system had its heart in the right place. The problem was with its head. The researchers of the exhaustive and extensive studies, funded by charitable foundations and commissioned by the governor and state Legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: They set the ultimate goal of "fixing" the state's K-12 public schools system and taking it back to some mythical myth·i·cal also myth·ic adj. 1. Of or existing in myth: the mythical unicorn. 2. Imaginary; fictitious. 3. golden era. By their own conclusions, there's a long way to go: California students are far behind those of many other states in achievement, and it will cost more than a trillion One thousand times one billion, which is 1, followed by 12 zeros, or 10 to the 12th power. See space/time. (mathematics) trillion - In Britain, France, and Germany, 10^18 or a million cubed. In the USA and Canada, 10^12. dollars to catch up. The studies push the debate forward but, in many ways, they do so in the wrong direction. Money, even if combined with some basic reforms, won't fix what's been broken for so long. Institutionally, our schools need more than a financial Band-Aid. The strangling regulations and bureaucracy, the protection of incompetence in·com·pe·tence or in·com·pe·ten·cy n. 1. The quality of being incompetent or incapable of performing a function, as the failure of the cardiac valves to close properly. 2. and the expectation of mediocrity me·di·oc·ri·ty n. pl. me·di·oc·ri·ties 1. The state or quality of being mediocre. 2. Mediocre ability, achievement, or performance. 3. One that displays mediocre qualities. all need to be blown up. Californians have shown time and again they are willing to invest heavily in schools, in their children, in the future of the state -- even when the education establishment resists every real reform. What's the value of continuing to prop up a system that has proved itself to be inherently flawed flaw 1 n. 1. An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness: a flaw in the crystal that caused it to shatter. See Synonyms at blemish. 2. ? We believe there is none. Indeed, there are many who would just as soon withdraw public support altogether. But that would be wrong. A good public school education is the great equalizer of our society, the one way to ensure that every child has a chance for a good life. What we need today, and need urgently, is an education revolution. We need dynamic and creative classrooms where the individual needs of children are met by teachers empowered -- and rewarded -- to do their best. We need to re-imagine the state's approach to public education, not patch it up. The next step is for a bipartisan committee on public education to examine the findings and make recommendations later this year. We encourage the committee to take the time to explore innovative solutions before it votes to funnel more into the education money pit. Our school system is languishing lan·guish intr.v. lan·guished, lan·guish·ing, lan·guish·es 1. To be or become weak or feeble; lose strength or vigor. 2. in the 20th century, a time that increasingly doesn't resemble the present. It's the 21st century, and we need a real partnership of parents, teachers, students and political and educational leadership all committed to excellence. |
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