Influential Groups Lay Out Road Map for Improving U.S. Education

What curriculum lacks is coherence and rigor. Far from helping educators, technology has created chaos. In terms of information flow, the world is flatter, but that has not helped our academic programs, nor people decide what is most important for their education.

While our communities are being flooded with dropouts and the non-employed, schools have been made the targets of change which has neither been proven or effective. The claims made by these self-styled experts have absolutely no merit and don't deserve to be heard.

Before our political-types, Michigans and such, pour sweet nothings into a barrel they should remember who elected them. There are many innocent, young people counting on them to do the right thing. At least for now, power is truth.

Al Rode of CA 8:10PM January 08, 2009

There are two technological developments that are presently avalable for a truly world method of education - possibly the final.

Method 1 is described on website Onlinevideoclassroom.com. The key element is to juxtapose students, instructor, and material in an Internet Classroom - likely up to 20. Students can be anywhere in the world. Advantages are too numerous to mention -see the website. It is further described on a World Future Society sub website www.wfs.org/fgalbright06/htm.

Method 2 is to use Wurlang - The World Language. It uses a fantastically effective and simple method of pronunciation that negates diacritical marks. It is described on a World Future Society sub website www.wfs.org/albright07.htm. It has been developed to having printed copies of Albright's World Fonetik Dikshunare of 500 pagess.

Thomas B. Albright of TX 5:49PM January 08, 2009

All the talk about "Excellence for All" is a ploy to distract attention from what's happening this very day in our schools.

As long as curriculum evaluators continue ignoring the needs of low performing students and loaded committees create double standards for students, efforts to reform education by setting low standards, without effective curriculum, will be seen by the majority of the public as wasteful and deplorable.

Nationalizing academic curriculum means adopting a single effective curriculum. This will do more improve our schools than any policy thus far advanced by the current leadership associated with either the NCTM or the MAA.

My preference for pedagogy is neither structuralist (traditional) or constructivist (reform). I would encourage anyone to study Singapore carefully because it works better than any curriculum I have ever used, especially with non-native English speakers. Singapore provides a superior model for teaching students how to think.

I encourage the public to not associate itself with groups that refuse to act professionally and have so far effectively demonstrated themselves to be an obstacle to truth, honesty and equity in education, especially during the past two decades.

Rather than admit defeat the "reform movement" continues to stand by their defective and fraudulently funded products, the DOE's exemplary textbooks. The source of misery for more children in school today than I can think of.

Significantly low scores in math and science should be raising alarms and we should be asking leaders difficult questions, like how long will this reform movement will continue to control public discourse.

Recently, I related my story of two small Washington communities to a group of California teachers. I was told of having suffered through a Core Plus training in Plano, TX. This despite their protests that Core Plus was not on the list of their state's approved adopted curriculum.

Singapore has been thankfully approved in California. Do the right thing and support nationalizing curriculum. End school resegregation, end social promotion, and stop the wasteful and fraudulent practices being sponsored by some of these reformers.

In an atmosphere of free inquiry, excellence is more likely to be the daily reality than it could ever be under any politician who is sufficiently foolish to think he knows enough to 'intervene and drive change in the system'.

Al Rode of CA 1:48AM January 04, 2009

What puzzles me is given the success rates of 40 years ago, why this model of basic skills has been taken off the table. New initiatives come into the mainstream endlessly. Constructivism while it has many merits has replaced basic skills. Children now "uncover" subjects instead of covering them. Reading the classics (except in AP classes) is deemed not "authentic" material and is largely not taught. As Donna alluded to above, the focus has shifted to self esteem issues. Parents and the system provide the self esteem that children used to earn through their work. Many students are apathetic simply because there is no possibility of failure. When was the last time that anyone has heard of a child being held back a grade? The system (i.e. parents and educators) won't allow it because to be held back is deemed injurious to the child's self esteem. Children have been taught to question authority without the caveat to do so respectfully. Standards are a good tool , but perhaps the problem is more fundamental and goes to the core of our system.

Mike of NJ 8:15AM January 01, 2009