School reform: Everyone has an opinion

School reform is a topic sure to spark conversation at any water cooler. Especially now, as schools face increasing amounts of public scrutiny and accountability (one of No Child Left Behind's clear, but often forgotten, successes) everyone it seems has an opinion on how schools can produce better students. This guy is one of them, and he brings some interesting ideas to the table about school reform.

While the premise that American students are lagging in comparison to the rest of the world is arguable (an international test, the TIMMS, evaluates math and science skills of students from all countries; American and Minnesotan students performed very competitively in 2007), one thing is for certain:

Schools are changing. And change is good.

And even though many of the reforms discussed in the above link are unfeasible in this area, a few of them are already germinating in school districts throughout the region. Take bilingual education, for instance. Here's a story that ran in the Free Press about a preschool teacher who uses Spanish to enhance/promote student literacy; Project SOCRATES (based in N. Mankato) provides world language courses to rural schools through Internet-TV; and most schools now require a world language component for graduation.

Another suggestion was to raise the compulsory education age. Keeping students in school for another year may not be the solution - but giving students some post-secondary and experiential education while still in high school is invaluable. Classes like Project Lead the Way and ProStart give students a chance to explore careers while still in high school; PSEO and Advanced Placement offerings continue to increase.

Schools have a tough job. In a business where kids are the commodity, change must be handled carefully and diligently. But educators also have to hear the demands of the wide world outside the schoolhouse doors. And that world demands students that are smarter and more adaptable than ever before.