Thursday, January 26, 2012

It's the Economy ... - Bridging Differences - Education Week

It's the Economy ... - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

It's the Economy ...

Dear Diane,

I've had an epiphany so I'm tossing the piece I wrote for this week to "spread the word."

"Can America Make It?" is the headline on the cover of the December issue of The American Prospect. The lead article is written by an old friend, Harold Meyerson, who argues that, "with the right trade and industrial policies," we can be a nation with a strong middle-class majority.

It's a fascinating piece and makes me think that the debates we're having about school reform have so distracted us that we forget that a good education system depends on a strong society. There's no point in scaring 5-year-olds into thinking if you don't work hard, you won't get a good job—when in fact virtually no one (well-educated or