We’re at the point in the session where comments like this are mostly just trying to read the tea leaves — so I’ll keep my thoughts short.
Reviewing the last week’s conversation on education from somewhat of a distance, I’m left with two questions that I wish were front-and-center in the minds of legislators and the media who cover them. I’m glad we’re talking about education, it just seems like the conversation should be smarter.
- What is lost if we do nothing on education? Many DFL reactions implied that we are doing pretty good already — so why the talk for radical changes from the Governor. A system that succeeds for one half the students is not good enough — not given the fundamental role that education plays in our democracy and economy. (See more from me on this at my blog.) This might mean that half the system stays about the same, but it should compel us to consider significant changes for the remaining students who fail in our current system of high school. I totally understand the DFL’s need to be skeptical of anything put forward by the other party and the other branch of government, but I wish it came with a greater sense of urgency about changing the status quo.
- Will the proposals work — to scale?! Changing the status quo is going to take more than pilot projects put forward by the Governor or anyone — and I’m still compelled by the argument that we are likely to need new schools as much as changing the schools we have. Are the proposals put forward by anyone premised on evidence that they will work — or in the very least an absence of evidence that they don’t work? And do they offer the chance to achieve the scale of change we’ll need. We should know by now that money won’t work on its own. In fact — no single solution will work on its own.