A five-day in a row “Back to School” series.
The panacea for what ails our schools. Depending upon who you read/talk to:
1) more rigorous course requirements (especially in math) coupled with high stakes standardized exams like in Japan;
2) firing incompetent teachers determined largely by students’ scores on standardized exams;
3) wireless laptops, smartboards, smartpens, and related personal technology;
4) small schools.
File these ideas under “one good idea quickly implemented will fix things”. In actuality, reinventing schooling will require decades of intelligent, caring, hard working people piecing together good ideas and adapting them to differing contexts.
But I’ll play along with the conventional way of thinking. The “big idea” that I believe has more potential than the four listed above to serve as a catalyst for medium and long-term positive change? Radically redesigned report cards. More on that tomorrow.
Pressing Pause 
I can’t wait for the report card. How about radically opening up the classroom so that the whole “village” can see what is going on daily and contribute and comment. Maybe setting up structures (smaller class sizes?) so that teachers can really know their kids? Maybe required field trips to make learning more interesting and connected for the kids, and to bring community interest to the schools.