Eli Broad: The World Is Moving Forward, but American Education Is Stagnant
'The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking' author shares his thoughts on how America 'can do better.'
Philanthropist Eli Broad's foundation is transforming K-12 urban public education. Eli is with two students in this photo at Harlem Success Academy in New York City. (Photo: Elibroad.com)
I am old enough to remember when America's K-12 public schools were the best in the world. I am a proud graduate of them, and I credit much of my success to what I learned in Detroit Public Schools and at Michigan State University.
When I was in high school, not long after World War II, the United States had the top graduation rate. Since then, we have dropped behind 20 other industrialized nations. In less time than you just spent reading the last few sentences, another American student has dropped out of school. American students today rank 31st in the world in mathematics and 23rd in science. If the academic rankings of our most precious resource—our young people—were the rankings of our Olympic athletes, it would be a source of major national embarrassment.
The most shameful part of the picture—the one that, by my count, is the
The most shameful part of the picture—the one that, by my count, is the