Strengthening the American Education SystemVocabulary and Expressionsout-educa

Strengthening the American Education System
   Now, it is an undeniable fact that countries who out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. But today, our students are sliding against their peers around the globe. Our kids trail too many other countries in math, science, and reading. As many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. And we’ve fallen to 16th in the proportion of our young people with a college degree.
   We’re in the midst of an ongoing enormous economic challenge. But the most important thing we can do is to make sure that our kids are prepared for this new economy. We’ve got to be thinking a little bit ahead and start making the tough decisions now to make sure that our schools are working the way they need to work.
   Now, we all know that schools can’t do it alone. As parents, the task begins at home. It begins by turning off the TV and helping with homework, and encouraging a love of learning from the very start of our children’s lives. There are no shortcuts there; we have to do that job. And we can’t just blame teachers and schools if we’re not instilling that commitment, that dedication to learning, in our kids.
   As a nation, we have an obligation to make sure that all children have the resources they need to learn — quality schools, good teachers, the latest textbooks and the right technology. That’s why the jobs bill I sent to Congress would put tens of thousands of teachers back to work across the country, and modernize at least 35, 000 schools. And Congress should pass that bill right now.
   So parents have a role and schools need more resources. But money alone won’t solve our education problems. We also need reform. We need to make sure that every classroom is a place of high expectations and high performance. That’s been our vision since taking office. And that’s why instead of just pouring money into a system that’s not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. We want to provide you more resources, but there’s also got to be a commitment on your part to make the changes that are necessary so that we can see actual results.
   For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, Race to the Top has led states across the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning. And since then, we have seen what’s possible when reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities. That’s why in my State of the Union address this year, I said that Congress should reform the No Child Left Behind law based on the same principles that have guided Race to the Top.
   The goals behind No Child Left Behind were admirable, but experience has taught us that the law has some serious flaws that are hurting our children instead of helping them. Teachers too often are being forced to teach to a test. Subjects like history and science are being squeezed out. And in order to avoid having their schools labeled as failures, some states lowered their standards in a race to the bottom instead of a Race to the Top.
   These problems have been obvious to parents and educators all over this country for years. But Congress has failed to fix them so far. So now, I will. Our kids only get one shot at a decent education. And they can’t afford to wait any longer.
   So starting today, we’ll be giving states more flexibility to meet high standards. We’re going to let states, schools and teachers come up with innovative ways to give our children the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future.
   This isn’t just the right thing to do for our kids — it’s the right thing to do for our country. We can’t afford to wait for an education system that is not doing everything it needs to do for our kids. We can’t let another generation of young people fall behind because we didn’t have the courage to recognize what doesn’t work, admit it, and replace it with something that does. We’ve got to act now.