The problem with education is that it is not a ladder that people can climb anymore; the rungs are missing. Core information needs to come first, then progressive inspiration will follow. Yes, some children get more core at home than most. However, that select few we can not – must not – ruin the chances of the others by cutting out a rungs here and there that don’t suit their pampered purpose.

I am glad for the kids of Silicon Valley and other education hotspots and don’t wish them to be held back but PLEASE don’t punish the rest of us that need a little more drill and a little less thrill. We deserve success also and a safe home and a warm bed and a full stomach and good math scores.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by umphrey: 21st Century Skills: ploy for selling more crap to schools: http://is.gd/4BadL...

It was very interesting to read that the P21 people think that NCLB-style test prep involves cramming facts in kids’ heads! As if. This does suggest a profound lack of understanding of schools’ reality. They remind me of the ubiquitous business world “consultants” who parachute in to a corporation and tell everyone who’s been there for years how to do their jobs. Only these P21 guys, so contemptuous of schools, don’t even parachute in. They issue their dictates from 30,000 feet (to piggy-back on Matthews’ analogy).