Open Minds

But though we must be prepared to consider entirely new approaches to public education, it would be foolish to ignore the experiences of the past. Dedicated reformers have been doing their best to address our educational problems for decades, and, while the problems persist, we can learn much from the reformers' efforts. Among the most strongly advocated and widely implemented ideas have been: increasing spending, shrinking classes, nationalizing curriculum and testing, creating "model schools," and allowing "school choice." Let us look briefly at each in turn.