The Real School Crisis

The main crisis in schools today is irrelevance.

Of all the institutions in America, schools have least adapted themselves to the free agent economy.

Daniel Pink (2001), journalist

I began reading Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink last night and love his take on the irrelevancy of public education as it stands today. * Public education is ideally based on the fundamental principles of the American democratic ideal (i.e., concern for natural rights of freedom and independence for the individual, as well as responsibility towards society). But today's system really belongs to an era that defined democracy in an oxymoronic way: personal freedom through rule following and sticking to "a plan." Most people agree that some kind of reform in education is in order, but still, millions of American parents trust the school system enough to hand over their kids every day. It's almost as if most people are wearing front blinders, unable to see what lies ahead for themselves and their children.

*To read a review of Free Agent Nation: http://www.sohodojo.com/ribs/free-agent-nation.html