Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves?

Most people believe that schools were good enough when they were children and that they are good enough now. But the dynamic growth of our system of education has spawned serious problems of educational quality.

One of the persistent ironies of reform is the impossibility of predicting the full consequences of change.

Accountability makes no sense when it undermines the larger goals of education.

Going to school is not the same as going shopping. Parents should not be burdened with locating a suitable school for their child. They should be able to take their child to the neighborhood public school as a matter of course and expect that it has well-educated teachers and a sound educational program.

What is happening to teachers now across this nation is a disgrace. The attacks on them are a blot on our nation. Teachers and students are not different interest groups. Anyone who demeans teachers demeans education and hurts children.

The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform American education is complacency.