Chapter 1

Chapter one was interesting to me as it touched on many issues that I personally feel strongly about. I found with great interest the "Old Way" definition on page 21 under "schools and change" it states that teaching students to just recite and test information learned is the old way, excuse me but isn't this pretty much what NCLB to an extent is all about or has become?? I have always felt that removing the creative process of learning wasn't the way to prepare our students to free think a problem when on the job. Please don't get me wrong kids still need to learn how to write, do math and science but they also need exactly what the "New Way" is saying to learn which is to collaborate, share info, to be creative and work well with others. Students need to be taught skills that will enable them to be productive employees of the future. Their future will involve the skills of reading, writing, creativity, problem solving, a foreign language or two and the technical skills to advance them to an employable level that needs to begin at the elementary level.
What is scary is how many companies are finding it more attractive to hire and run their businesses outside of the U.S. The United States must restructure its education policies to prepare its future employees with the skills to compete with foreign labor markets. Will we be able to do what it takes to make this happen such as investing into the technology needed in our schools, creating attractive benefits that keep companies in the United States and so forth. We have to invest now for this future.
Schools and libraries play a major role in preparing for the future but they can't do it alone. Voters need to step up and let the politicians know that none of us want to be "left behind".