Fixing Education
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
In this presidential campaign, we need somebody who wants to address the question President Bush once raised: “Is our children learning?”
International testing shows that U.S. schools do a lousy job teaching math and science, in particular. And far too many American students aren’t going to college or even completing high school, undermining our competitiveness for decades to come.
Moreover, the U.S. education system reinforces the gulfs of poverty and race. Well-off white kids tend to go to good schools that propel them ahead, while many poor black and Hispanic kids attend bad schools that hold them back.
For inspiration, presidential candidates might look at this bold three-part plan for improving American schools:
*End requirements for teacher certification.
*Make tenure more difficult to get so weak teachers can be weeded out after two or three years on the job.
*Award $15,000 annual bonuses to good teachers for as long as they teach at schools in low-income areas.
. . . Neither Democrats nor Republicans have offered much leadership on education. Democrats have been too close to teachers’ unions to rock the boat, and Republicans don’t invest in education — so Mr. Bush’s No Child Left Behind effort has ended up as an underfinanced mess. What we need now is for a presidential candidate to seize these ideas and run with them. Any takers?
Read more . . .
Nicholas Kristof News Politics Education Democrats Bush 2008
