If you’ve been paying attention to the confused jumble that has become the "education reform" movement you’ll often hear this cry:
"The failing school system is a result of the lack of competitiveness of the U.S. compared with that of other nations. A slipping-away of the supremacy of our country."But we have to ask ourselves, is that really the problem? Especially when we consider that countries like Finland rose to the top with a spirit of collaboration rather than competition. Furthermore they hold out their hands to languishing nations like ours when it comes to learning. Could it be instead that our focus is out of focus? Success is all in how you define your goals. The focus of educational change won't be good enough if the improvement of the mental and emotional health of children is a side effect to the great purpose of "being competitive again."
If we focus on creating healthier and happier children, not only can we achieve the same ends, but we can also have economic competitiveness.
The reality is this...
We don't need to reform education. We need to reinvent it entirely. The only recognizable thing I see remaining is the buildings (in some cases), and the commitment to education in the form of public funding.
The reason we need to pack it in and start over...
As "Teacher of the Year" John Taylor Gatto told us in his Op Ed to the Wall Street Journal more than a decade ago, kids are being harmed.