politics: the education ballywick

David Brooks writes about education in today's NYtimes here. I'm of two minds. One, I do agree that pre-K and after school programs help, but I find the idea that schools are centered around teacher and adult needs suspect. If perhaps, someone, somewhere, would outline what students' needs are, precisely, I'd be much obliged. I'm not even sure what an education system centered around students' needs would look like, except that it seems to serve a jargon short hand for charter schools, vouchers, testing, and getting rid of ineffective teachers. If we're serious about reforming the school system, perhaps a better system of training teachers is in order. If we're serious about reforming the school system, perhaps a better system of mentoring and developing teachers already working is needed. And if we're serious about reforming the school system, perhaps reforming the curriculum to reflect 21st century needs is what should happen. I've long thought that the high school curriculum is too narrow in its focus on presumably preparing every student for college. We've let go of the fine arts and the mechanical arts, both of which often helped keep students in school. At least, the drama and choir programs did so for my father back in the mid-70s.