Schools of Thought

Interesting:

Granholm calls for statewide mandatory curriculum
Associated Press

LANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm called Friday for a mandatory statewide curriculum for Michigan's high school students.

It's another step toward possibly changing the state's mandatory requirements for high school graduates. The only current state requirement is a civics class, with the rest of the standards set by local school boards.

"With Michigan's economic future on the line, we can't afford to have our 500 local school districts marching in different directions," Granholm said in her weekly radio address. "Instead, we need a high standards, mandatory curriculum to get all our students on the road to higher education and a good paying job."

Without passing judgment on the merits of the proposal, I think it's a fairly remarkable statement because it opens the door for someone to come along with this one:

"With America's economic future on the line, we can't afford to have our 50 states and 15,000 local school districts marching in different directions. Instead, we need a high standards, mandatory curriculum to get all our students on the road to higher education and a good paying job."

I'm far, far, far from ready to say we need a national curriculum, but, tradition and law aside, let me ask this philisophical question: Why should Alabama get to teach its kids math differently than Iowa, especially if it does it worse?

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 17, 2005 at 10:29 AM. |