National Standards, Local Control
Dear Deborah,
Now that I am into my first "Bridging" venture, I see the value of the format. Many discussions of education founder on both differing perspectives and a tyranny of language.
Our prior discussion of the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act leads me to see important agreement even if described as disagreement, but I also see some talking past each other, and I finally see some fundamental differences.
Let me begin with a very important point of agreement. Local decisionmaking on how to provide education is essential, and it is foolhardy to interject top-down management of how schools hire staff, structure educational programs, and monitor what goes on. The intrusion of state and, worse, federal proclamations about how everybody in the school and classroom should perform has little hope of improving our schools.
Historically, states have tried to regulate local schools with the idea generally being preventing local school
Now that I am into my first "Bridging" venture, I see the value of the format. Many discussions of education founder on both differing perspectives and a tyranny of language.
Our prior discussion of the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act leads me to see important agreement even if described as disagreement, but I also see some talking past each other, and I finally see some fundamental differences.
Let me begin with a very important point of agreement. Local decisionmaking on how to provide education is essential, and it is foolhardy to interject top-down management of how schools hire staff, structure educational programs, and monitor what goes on. The intrusion of state and, worse, federal proclamations about how everybody in the school and classroom should perform has little hope of improving our schools.
Historically, states have tried to regulate local schools with the idea generally being preventing local school
