Honestly, I think the only way to fix education is to address the basis of society itself, because the educational system is, and must be, reflective of the society that creates it. And society, in order to support a robust educational system, must be based on reason and inference, not belief. Because with belief, you need only remember what you believe, and there is not need nor method to learn more than your predecessors, and achievement gradually declines, year after year. But in a society based on reason and inference, education is viewed only as a starting point; students are expected to learn for themselves and eventually surpass their teachers. And that is a society in which achievement gradually grows, year after year. There is no other way to do it; you cannot "improve education" where there is no desire to foster a nation of free-thinking, rebellious, visionary youth.
That said, Harvard University has announced its intention to create a generation of educational leaders by offering a new doctoral degree focused on leadership in education. The three-year course will be tuition-free and offered to 25 students. It's hard to measure the amount of hubris required for Harvard to believe that it can create "a new generation of educational leaders" simply by offering this degree. The idea that leadership is entrenched in an elite, and that the rest of us need only follow, forms the core tenet of societies based on belief, and is the source, not the cure, of the rot and decay that is undermining the system from within. (Barack Obama effectively tapped into this, running a campaign based on 'belief' and 'hope' - but the success of his presidency will hinge on whether he can, in his eight years, transform the polity into one based on his own greatest strengths, discussion and dialogue).
That said, Harvard University has announced its intention to create a generation of educational leaders by offering a new doctoral degree focused on leadership in education. The three-year course will be tuition-free and offered to 25 students. It's hard to measure the amount of hubris required for Harvard to believe that it can create "a new generation of educational leaders" simply by offering this degree. The idea that leadership is entrenched in an elite, and that the rest of us need only follow, forms the core tenet of societies based on belief, and is the source, not the cure, of the rot and decay that is undermining the system from within. (Barack Obama effectively tapped into this, running a campaign based on 'belief' and 'hope' - but the success of his presidency will hinge on whether he can, in his eight years, transform the polity into one based on his own greatest strengths, discussion and dialogue).
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