President Obama's Speech on Education

All educators should listen or hear to the President's speech given this morning (March 10, 2009).  I'll be highlighting parts of it; the full text is available here.

First of all, I enjoyed hearing the comments about President Lincoln.  I've been working with our 8th grade social studies teachers, as they kick-off a unit that centers around the transcontinental railroad, and all the challenges of that time period was compared to the challenges that we face today.

"I know there's some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time. And they forget that Lincoln helped lay down the transcontinental railroad and passed the Homestead Act and created the National Academy of Sciences in the midst of civil war. Likewise, President Roosevelt didn't have the luxury of choosing between ending a depression and fighting a war; he had to do both. President Kennedy didn't have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don't have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term."

The President believes that education has great importance to our nation, saying that the future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens, and America isn't doing as great a job as it could.  He feels that politics has often gotten in the way of progress.  He says "What's required is not simply new investments, but new reforms."  He believes that merit pay to reward good teachers is a reform that could help, an idea that has historically not been popular with teachers and the Democratic party. Personally, I would be open to the idea, not knowing all the details that need to be worked out.  He also wants to focus on early childhood education, the years before children enter kindergarten. 

Coming next is the portion of the speech that totally excites me. He talks about high expectations and 21st century skills.

And I'm calling on our nation's governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and entrepreneurship and creativity. 

He then goes on to call out young people to enter the profession of teaching, to "serve our country in our classrooms."  We need young teachers that are creative, smart, and open to new ideas.

Next, he tackles three more difficult topics:  charter schools, school calendars, and higher ed!  All deserve some investigation and analysis. 

He pleas for parents, students, teachers, communities, and the entire nation to work together to make some positive changes. 

All of this makes me feel hopeful, despite the bad economy, the high class sizes, and the overwhelmed teachers.  What are your thoughts?

Image with Creative Commons license by tsevis.