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The state of our economy in Michigan should serve to highlight how essential it is to have high quality schools. Besides the tremendous benefits of a well-educated workforce, I also believe that education is the great equalizer. With that in mind, I truly believe that Michigan is ready to embrace change in failing schools. There is widespread agreement that failing schools are a societal and economic burnden. The question is how do we turn them around? Luckily, we are no longer going out on a limb, or testing the waters when it comes to education reform. The beauty of oberserving the events from the last decade, is that we have a pretty good idea of what has worked. Implementing best practices can bring about tremendous improvement.
In a perfect world, we would not have to deal with the societal ills of communities with failing schools. Obviously, poverty has an effect on student achievement. But the idea that children from poverty-ridden, broken homes cannot learn is ridiculous, especially in an era where we have seen so many schools succeed in traditionally underperforming districts. Implementing best practices is not a pancea for all problems. Some things will work better than other things. But we have to be willing to adapt and build on what is working, because the world is not going to wait for us to come around. By virtually all accounts, K-12 education in the United States is slipping compared to the rest of the modernized world. We have the tools and knowledge to re-vitalize public education. But we have to get down to work and be honest with ourselves. We cannot wait for poverty and broken homes to be eliminated in our society in order for our schools to turn around. When it comes to education and affluence, which comes first, the chicken or egg?