the america moment

President Obama recently called the US education crisis our Sputnik moment; this because there are significant challenges:

1. Education budgets around the country facing even more dramatic cuts.
2. The incoming Republican Congress intending even deeper budget cuts.
3. PISA scores (OECD global student achievement testing) place America near the middle of the world, sandwiched between Iceland and Liechtenstein, well below the leaders.
4. The belief that to be successful, America must follow "the leaders."

Dennis Pierce talks about this in today's eSchool News, and ends his editorial with: If we don’t spend more on our schools, our children’s future will suffer.

Here's the data (knowing that things have changed a bit since 2008): Education America spent $10,259 per student that year (=$593 billion total), this total has shrunk some in the last couple of years but I guarantee most what I point out in the link are still true:

1. Student populations are declining year over year.
2. The proportion of the overall payroll going to teachers is declining year over year.
3. There are still almost 15,000 school districts in this country, each requiring its own infrastructure, budget, and politicians.
4. Education leaders are stuck in a rut and think the only path to success is more spending.

Dennis Pierce and President Obama couldn't be more wrong. Increasing the budget for education will NOT fix things. It is true that we must improve the situation in our schools, but more money is NOT the answer.

America is afraid of everything right now - Homeland Security has declared a war on Americans (TSA, etc.); the Pentagon has declared a war on disaffected people labeled as terrorists, but who live in poverty in some of the worst places on Earth; the Republicans are afraid of China taking over the American economy; and the Democrats are afraid of Finland, Poland, and Estonia because their students are smarter.

But America is forgetting some fundamental truths. (Perhaps I see this more clearly because I was born in the Third World looking from the outside into countries like the US.)

1. America didn't become America by following in other countries' footsteps. It became America because it charted its own path and believed that success will come to those who work the hardest and choose to break molds, vs. to those who copy and conform.
2. Corruption is human nature - the more money you throw at a problem, the less likely you are to find a solution, and the more assured you are of creating an even bigger mess. The data clearly shows that the more we spend, the fewer we graduate, and worse, the weaker the graduates.
3. ONLY in the minds of bureaucrats has education EVER been about test scores or single subject proficiency.

Rather than being America's Sputnik moment, this should be the world's America Moment. The rest of the planet needs to look at what the US is doing and despair. Leadership requires others to look to you, not vice versa. That's the challenge I expect a President, Congress, and Edu-cognizanti to proclaim! Where is your gumption people???

America went from being an average country to a superpower in less than a generation. A defining moment in this transition happened in 1940, when President Franklin Roosevelt went to Congress asking that America go from the 12th largest Air Force to the LARGEST Air Force, that she build the most advanced planes ever, and that her production capacity should increase at least five-fold.

The essential America Moment happend when despite his using these numbers metaphorically, the country took him literally. America not only achieved what everyone said was impossible, but doubled it (100,000 planes/year vs. the 50,000 in FDR's speech)! She created a industrial force that innovated in design, engineering, and production at levels never before seen; and in ways that put the fear of Uncle Sam in every other country's heart.

The President (and the rest of the Edu-Cognizanti) should find their inner FDR and demand that: "American students deserve an education system the likes of which has never before been seen. One where each student is able to find and develop their greatest selves; where every teacher is passionate, committed and excellent; and where all schools are filled with joy and achievement.

The graduates of Education America 2.0 will be equipped to not just survive, but adapt and thrive no matter what future unfolds. They will be the engine that drives America into the 22nd century as the country that is not only the best place to live, but the only one that all others look to achieve similar greatness."

America is neither Finland nor Korea - the people, their aspirations, their very natures are different. We need an education system that is of the people, by the people, for the people - uniquely and bespokenly American. It is possible to create a clear and simple plan that Republicans, Democrats, the Unions, parents and most school leaders) will wholeheartedly support - we just haven't tried.

Stand up people - our time has come.