Summary of "Our schools must do better"

Herbert starts out the essay with a story of how he asked a kid a question about modern day history, to which he received a response he wasn't hoping for, "I don't know." to which it got him thinking about this, and brought up the federal test results for math and reading scores for public schooling. He continues on to compare modern day public schools to being linear and remaining precisely the same since World War II, and that the system needs drastic change to match up to today's technologically oriented society.

 Going forward, Herbert uses various statements from Professor Thomas Kane about how the system is trying, but not being drastic enough to give a lasting impact. Though he admits teachers have some to blame as their qualifications have nothing to do with their true ability to teach. He wishes for the teachers to be the first and biggest reform in that they should be evaluated before being given tenure. Though he ends off with having alternative models for schooling systems that involve more interactive teaching and longer school days, he ends with the statement "They need something better than a post-World War II system in a Post-9/11 world." which would be more powerful if he didn't compare America to being the world.


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His tone is solid, but he doesn't acknowledge the opposition very much or really counters any arguments against himself.
He establishes the importance in the very beginning by presenting a story of when he asked a child what they knew about current events.
"They need something better" to appeal to a parents' want to have the best for their child.
Herbert also deflects blame from the child's own willingness to learn by saying the teachers also need a more rigorous process and "2 or 3 years" of evaluation before granting tenure for longer term teachers.



Though I can agree with Herbert's morals, I can't quite agree with "longer school days" When the efficiency of the current school days aren't fully used with schools presenting more empty time slots inside the time allowed. His point of more training and quality in teachers as well as their evaluation is a must though, and would help our system better.