School reforms' meager results. See 2nd reason!

(Two reasons for school reform failure)

A gutsy piece. Common sense tells us that education is a two-way street. Educate is an active verb. It is something one does. It does not happen passively. The teacher should work hard AND THE STUDENT SHOULD WORK HARD.

Yet, defying common sense, education reform efforts have focused only on the first person--not the second! If students don't learn, the teachers must be doing something wrong! Hello... does that make sense to anyone? NOT ME. Such reforms have not worked and, they will not. So says this gutsy piece by Robert J. Samuelson in the Washington Post.

He cites the (usually uncited and unspoken) reason--students are not motivated to work hard. Thank you, Mr. Samuelson, for telling a truth. In my experience, most teachers are good enough. BUT, they cannot educate students alone. Education is an ACTIVE verb. Teachers need active participation by students (and I would say, parents). Our reforms have been looking in the wrong place.