Last week I made the fairly obvious argument that GOP governors are the key to the Republican Party's renewal, including on the education issue.
Peggy Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, agrees:
I believe renewal and reform will come from the states. There will be, in Washington and New York, a million symposia, think-tank confabs, op-ed pieces, columns and cruises; there will be epiphanies on the Amtrak Acela while delayed at Wilmington; there will be polls and books, and pollsters' books. All fine and good, and a contribution. But the new emerging Republicans are likely to come in the end from the states, because that is where "this is what works" will come from. It is governance in the states that will yield the things that win-better handling of teachers' unions,* better management, more effective, just and therefore desirable tax systems. And, of course, more clean lines of accountability.
So what bold reforms could energetic governors embrace, particularly in a time of economic distress? Here are three ideas; if you have others, please post them below or send them to me at [email protected].
--??Put great curricular materials into the hands of teachers, via the Internet. This is an easy win, doesn't need to be terribly expensive, but is sorely needed. Ask your Department of Education to partner with curriculum developers to take your state standards and turn them into usable, clickable resources for the classroom. Include lesson plans and videos of master teachers delivering them; embedded assessments; readings; digital snippets; the whole shebang.
--??Make schools' finances and results transparent, via the Internet. Empower taxpayers and parents with easily accessible information. It's a crime that nobody knows how much individual schools spend. Change that. Put it online, down to the last penny. And link spending with results, displayed in user-friendly ways.
--??Provide excellent coursework to students, via the Internet. Lots of states are already doing this, of course, via virtual schools, virtual charters, and the like. But there's still a ton of room for growth, and some gubernatorial leadership could ensure that the resources provided to kids are top-notch, paid for by the state in a way that will keep them getting better, and accessible to the children who need them most.
And yes, this soup has a theme. One thing the Internet is really good at is creating efficiencies. And we all know that we need those now. So get to it, guvs.
* GOP heads-of-states might learn a thing or two about that from a couple of Democrats in that non-state called the District of Columbia.
