EB80426 Nation at Risk => Nation at a Loss on What to Do!
Submitted by Ted on Thu, 2008/05/22 - 5:58am.
k12
Today is the 25th Anniversary of the “A Nation at Risk” study that changed every thing. The National Commission on Excellence in Education indicted K-12 education in “apocalyptic rhetoric” totally unexpected by Education Secretary Bell or President Reagan.
“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre education performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war”
President Ronald Reagan had wanted to 1. Abolish the Dept. of Education; 2. Promote tuition tax credits and vouchers; and 3. Restore voluntary prayer in the schools – “excellence” in education was not on his list. Secretary Bell stood tall and become the father of the school reform movement.
Americans resonated the something was “seriously amiss” in their schools. From the 1989 “six national goal” to “No Child Left Behind” the echo of “A Nation at Risk” continues. Unfortunately, over the past 25 years we have been a "A Nation at a Loss on What to Do!"
But the simple 1983 concept of excellence in education and economic prosperity is not enough. Rote learning and memorization must be integrated with creativity and critical thinking within an open economy, strong legal and banking system and entrepreneurial culture. In this century the “formula” expands to rigorous knowledge of math, science and technology.
Once again the desperate language must be heard as American education is challenged. In the 20th century we provided more education to more citizens than our global competitors. “A Nation at Risk” touted 75% graduation rate from high school. We are now at 70%. We lead sending graduates to college, now we are in 5th place on student in higher education. Graduation from college is 16th out of 27 countries in college graduation. A more critical issue is that approximately 30% of our young people are not educated to function as citizens and workers in the global economy.
Only through “access” as well as “excellence” can our current “A Nation At Risk II” be addressed. Our nation has a one globally dominating strong suit which could be played over the next 25 years – eLearningi. The solution is simple – adopt it to transform schools. The challenge continues – leadership from the top.
Ref: NY Times, April 25ht, 2008, Edward Fiske, Op-Ed Contributor
