- Kids are not test scores.” ~ Stephanie Simon, Reuters
- “There are numerous characters in education: students, teachers, administrators, school boards, parents, and communities, as well as a Greek chorus of educational experts, consultants, and bureaucrats. Teachers are the one group on whom everyone else can focus, so we bear the brunt of school reform–stiffened evaluation processes, new requirements to be highly qualified, performance-based pay, charter schools, and parent-choice triggers, and ultimately the threat of non-renewal if students don’t improve on standardized tests. Why aren’t the other parties in for their share of the blame?” ~ Glen Lineberry, high school teacher
- “It’s a pretty basic educational problem we have: Students’ willingness to learn is not there. I go to a school where most kids don’t even want to learn . . . They don’t care, and teachers get in trouble for it . . . ~ Joseph A. Ryan, age 17
- “We are at a crossroads in the nation regarding the direction that public education will take in the coming decades. Do we focus on a curriculum that concentrates on a few core subjects or do we gain an appreciation for how public education can develop all aspects of the child to the benefit of each of them as well as society in general? Do we place test prep ahead of actually educating our children and test scores ahead of broader and more holistic approaches to evaluating students’ competencies? These questions lay at the heart of the current debate about the future of public education in America.” ~ Martin J. Blank, et al, Huffington Post Education, Parenting, and Health bloggers
- “The ability to innovate and to analyze, and to solve problems is seen worldwide as crucial for adapting to the fast-changing global economy. But it is all part of a long-standing tension between the need for academic rigor and the need to foster creativity . . . Now, even though academic performance among U.S. students is still lagging, many parents and educators are complaining that the push toward a standard curriculum and standardized tests is bleeding lessons of liveliness, and that schools do too little to foster creativity and analytical thinking. They are not entirely wrong.” ~ from a Los Angeles Times editorial
