What is the most crucial issue in education today?
A. There are many crucial issues, but primarily, we need to re-think education to match the needs of the 21st century. We need to think differently about the function of education today and the role of schools today. It’s a new world, and what we need to do to prepare students is different than it was for previous generations. Q. Who should be taking the lead in making this happen? A. Certainly, the nation’s governors should be playing a critical role in making sure their state’s schools succeed. And school leaders should be stepping up to the challenge of innovation. Q. What are some specific actions we need to take now? A. First, we need to align the curriculum from Pre-school up through college. That is why I instituted the P-20 council in Arizona, so that there would be common language around what we need students to know. For instance, we need to be sure we all mean the same thing when we talk about knowing algebra. Parts of No Child Left Behind are useful. Building in accountabil
