Noting two significant studies on U.S. education, The New York Times' David Brooks says we have “forfeited” the educational achievement lead we once enjoyed over our economic rivals, and that “threatens the country’s long-term prospects.” We’ve hardly increased the population’s average years of schooling since 1970, the year the percentage of students graduating from high school peaked at 80%. The ratio has declined since. One researcher blames the problem on deteriorating family environments, which mean five year olds, the age at which Brooks says one can estimate school success with “depressing accuracy,” arrive displaying (or not) motivation, emotional stability, self-control and sociability.Brooks believes the biggest “economic” problem America faces is our “skills gap.” He dismisses McCain’s push for school choice, including charter schools (to me, the right way to go). He says those seeking education reform must battle within the Democratic Party, the only place schools receive serious attention.
In an earlier column, Brooks praised the Education Equality Project, backed by the urban school chiefs of New York, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Newark as well as Al Sharpton. The Project is willing to say, “Today’s school systems aren’t broken. They were designed to meet the needs of teachers and adults first, and that’s exactly what they are doing.” Brooks hopes Obama, like the Project, will put students first by enforcing accountability and backing reforms that remove failing teachers and administrators. But on education, Brooks has found Obama so far to be “all carrot, no stick.”
