AUSTIN, Texas -- OK, let's try this again verrrrry slowly, class -- like Al
Gore in his Mr. Rogers mode.
George W. Bush on education, supposedly his strong point, is making no
sense. He is getting it all wrong and is dumbing down what could have been a
really useful debate on how to fix the public schools.
For political reasons, he needs to claim that his little nostrums have more
to do with the improvement in Texas public schools than the fundamental
reforms made long before he showed up.
This is depressing and dangerous, and could well lead to our once again
falling for some cute little quick-fix slogan (higher standards, end social
promotion, vouchers, accountability, back to basics, phonics, school
choice), while ignoring the real basics (smaller class sizes, more preschool
programs, spending more on poor kids and better classroom equipment -- not
to mention fixing the roofs and the windows).