Yesterday's debate about the future of the Republican Party on education, sponsored by Fordham, left me feeling depressed. (See my live-blogging here, here, here, here, and here. The video will be available this afternoon.)
It's not that our participants didn't have thoughtful things to say. They did. Senator Lamar Alexander argued for a Lincolnian approach to education-one that focuses on providing "opportunity" to parents and students and teachers, rather than the Rooseveltian "Command and Control" system we have today. Senator Jim DeMint spoke eloquently about the need to "customize" our education system for the individual child by expanding choices. And Representative Mike Castle demonstrated his deep substantive knowledge around issues such as growth models, graduation rates, and assessments. (He also helpfully expressed his view that national standards and tests are "worthy of discussion.")
As far as "the vision thing," buzzwords like "opportunity" and "customization" and "choice" aren't bad. And for sure it makes sense to adopt growth models, common grad rates, and so forth. But none of this strikes me as particularly fresh, or all that different from what Democrats are saying.
Of course, the best those of us at Fordham could come up with was "Reform Realism," which is admittedly wonky. But we think tanks are supposed to be the fount of new ideas, so let me take another stab. How about a focus on research-and-development, which, as we argued in our "Open Letter" to Congress and the Administration, should be the engine of federal policymaking, rather than the caboose? Why shouldn't the GOP embrace a major new investment in rigorous research, evaluation, and new product development-grants that would flow largely through the Institute of Education Sciences but would also be available for non-profit and for-profit entrepreneurs that are working to create cutting-edge learning solutions? Make it clear to America's innovators that if they turn their talents to developing technologies that transform teaching and learning, we'll make it worth their while.
Have a better idea? Send it my way: [email protected].
