No Picnic for Any of Us!

In his column in today's New York Times, David Brooks expresses the single most important factor in rectifying the ills of our education system: persistent courage.

Building on the familiar story that we have heard about President Obama's mother waking him up to study at 4:30 a.m. when he was a child. Enduring his complaints, President Obama remembers his mother replying, "This is no picnic for me either, Buster!"

Our school systems have become dangerously ineffective for the majority of the children that they serve. Data proves this hands down. Building a relevant, competitive, effective public education system that educates children for their futures in our knowledge-based economy will require tough choices grounded in reality, focused on the needs of children, motivated by heroic efforts to preserve and defend our commitment to high quality public education. We must have the persistent courage to expect no less of ourselves and our systems. We must have the persistent courage to do the hard things because they are the right things to do for our children's futures.

Read David Brooks article: "No Picnic for Me Either!"