Kevin's Educational Vision for America
A Smart strategy for LEARNING IN AMERICA
This is my education manifesto. It is borne out of nearly twenty years of fighting to improve our
schools and expand on the educational opportunities available to our most challenged children.
During those twenty years, I have seen firsthand the decay of our schools. And I have also
witnessed how we have responded to that decay. Often grounded in good intentions, various
reforms have been attempted as a way to right our education system. Though noble in scope,
none of those reform initiatives have led to the wholesale change required to make education
work for all children.
More than anything, I have become uniquely conversant as to what works and what doesn’t. But
I am not alone. The sad irony is that most people associated with education know what works.
Schools need high standards, high expectations, quality teachers, a great school leader, a
willingness to embrace innovation and creativity, and a belief that all children can learn. But if so
many of us know what works, why can’t we educate our children? Why is it that the light that
shines so brightly in the eyes of all kindergartners grows dim for many of those same children by
the time they reach fourth grade? While many factors contribute to the answer to that question,
such as children’s upbringing, the persistent problem with education in America is much more
fundamental. The core of our problem lies with us—our values, our priorities, our culture, or
rather, the lack thereof. At one time, we were the envy of the world because of the way we
embraced education. Consistent with that can-do American spirit, our core belief was that
through education and hard work, one could improve one’s lot in life. America was nourished by
that belief, and our country benefited from it. It was universally believed that each American’s
“pull yourself up by your bootstraps” story made our country stronger. But over the last forty
years or so, we began to lose our way. Increasingly, success wasn’t measured by hard work or
even education. And today, many view education as a means to an end rather than an essential
part of the learning journey of life.
Over the past forty years, the students and teachers who make up our classrooms have changed,
while our education bureaucracy has not. Children from diverse backgrounds and with different
needs weren’t getting what they needed to learn in our traditional schools. Teachers who were
tasked with educating these children weren’t getting the professional development or support
they needed to do their jobs. Slowly but surely, the dumbing down of our schools began. Most of
our school districts embraced mediocrity rather than innovation as they struggled with the
changing dynamics of the 1960s and 1970s. Soon, the individual learning needs of students took
a backseat to the needs of the system. And we became numb to stories like those of children
graduating from high school who can’t read and statistics about dropout rates and growing
achievement gaps.
What’s worse, we began to get mired in peripheral fights. Sure, countless reform proposals have
been offered in nearly every school district. But as soon as anyone articulates a new education
idea or position, that person is placed in a proverbial box, labeled and immediately ostracized by
those who think differently and who make up the status quo. It doesn’t matter if the idea or
proposal will actually help our children; the lines are already drawn in the sand. Sadly, the
unknowing public finds itself in the position of having to choose sides, even while they
themselves try to understand or navigate our education system for their own children. Politics,
patronage, and adult priorities take precedence over the individual education needs of our
children, a notion that is unheard of among the vast majority of nations around the world.
Other countries have come to understand that real learning is more important than educational
systems and politics. These countries place a premium on the educational opportunities of each
child. Over time, many of these countries have developed a culture that celebrates learning and
makes learning the focal point of family and community pride.
Here in America, we need to do the same thing. We need an education revolution in our country.
One that is designed to truly put the learning interests of children first. A revolution that makes it
clear that most of the education issues being discussed are, at best, ancillary to ensuring that
there are high-quality learning opportunities available for each and every American child.
But we need to change our culture before a true revolution can emerge.
In this book, my education manifesto, I will focus on that culture change. I will talk about where
we have been, where we are, and, more importantly, where we need to be. As you read these
pages, you will see how my own personal experiences have helped to shape my views and guide
my thinking around how we can fix what’s wrong with America’s approach to educating its
young. Although I did not know it at the time, I was born into a house that contained its own
learning culture. Both of my parents, particularly my father, planted learning seeds in my siblings
and me such that the quest for knowledge was second nature for all of us. It wasn’t until I got to
law school that I realized the culture of learning created by my parents in our home was not
commonly found in other American households. In their own unique way, my parents kept us
excited about learning and constantly nurtured our curiosity. They made going to the library such
a big deal that I was boastfully proud when I got my own library card. As a young boy, I
developed an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
In that same vein, here in America we need to shift the conversation from one about failing
schools and flatlined achievement gaps to one which generates excitement about learning among
our children and communities. We need to do a cultural pivot. Everything we say and do about
education and learning in America must become aspirational in tone and content. We need an
America where learning becomes infectious. We need an America where the models that work,
be they public, private, charter, digital, or home schooling, are lifted to higher acclaim. And we
need an America where parents and children are at the front of the discussion as opposed to the
end of it.
A large part of building this new American education culture requires a conscious effort to take
politics out of the education discussion. Our sole focus should be to create a national obsession
around learning that transcends the politics of the day. Through this effort, we can develop a new
brand of nationalism that has not been witnessed by most Americans.
It is time for us to get excited about the future of education. It is time for us to celebrate what is
possible rather than what is not. It is time for a different approach to learning. It is time for us to
develop personal and national pride around learning in America. This is my learning manifesto.
~Preface from Kevin's new book: Building A Learning Culture in America
schools and expand on the educational opportunities available to our most challenged children.
During those twenty years, I have seen firsthand the decay of our schools. And I have also
witnessed how we have responded to that decay. Often grounded in good intentions, various
reforms have been attempted as a way to right our education system. Though noble in scope,
none of those reform initiatives have led to the wholesale change required to make education
work for all children.
More than anything, I have become uniquely conversant as to what works and what doesn’t. But
I am not alone. The sad irony is that most people associated with education know what works.
Schools need high standards, high expectations, quality teachers, a great school leader, a
willingness to embrace innovation and creativity, and a belief that all children can learn. But if so
many of us know what works, why can’t we educate our children? Why is it that the light that
shines so brightly in the eyes of all kindergartners grows dim for many of those same children by
the time they reach fourth grade? While many factors contribute to the answer to that question,
such as children’s upbringing, the persistent problem with education in America is much more
fundamental. The core of our problem lies with us—our values, our priorities, our culture, or
rather, the lack thereof. At one time, we were the envy of the world because of the way we
embraced education. Consistent with that can-do American spirit, our core belief was that
through education and hard work, one could improve one’s lot in life. America was nourished by
that belief, and our country benefited from it. It was universally believed that each American’s
“pull yourself up by your bootstraps” story made our country stronger. But over the last forty
years or so, we began to lose our way. Increasingly, success wasn’t measured by hard work or
even education. And today, many view education as a means to an end rather than an essential
part of the learning journey of life.
Over the past forty years, the students and teachers who make up our classrooms have changed,
while our education bureaucracy has not. Children from diverse backgrounds and with different
needs weren’t getting what they needed to learn in our traditional schools. Teachers who were
tasked with educating these children weren’t getting the professional development or support
they needed to do their jobs. Slowly but surely, the dumbing down of our schools began. Most of
our school districts embraced mediocrity rather than innovation as they struggled with the
changing dynamics of the 1960s and 1970s. Soon, the individual learning needs of students took
a backseat to the needs of the system. And we became numb to stories like those of children
graduating from high school who can’t read and statistics about dropout rates and growing
achievement gaps.
What’s worse, we began to get mired in peripheral fights. Sure, countless reform proposals have
been offered in nearly every school district. But as soon as anyone articulates a new education
idea or position, that person is placed in a proverbial box, labeled and immediately ostracized by
those who think differently and who make up the status quo. It doesn’t matter if the idea or
proposal will actually help our children; the lines are already drawn in the sand. Sadly, the
unknowing public finds itself in the position of having to choose sides, even while they
themselves try to understand or navigate our education system for their own children. Politics,
patronage, and adult priorities take precedence over the individual education needs of our
children, a notion that is unheard of among the vast majority of nations around the world.
Other countries have come to understand that real learning is more important than educational
systems and politics. These countries place a premium on the educational opportunities of each
child. Over time, many of these countries have developed a culture that celebrates learning and
makes learning the focal point of family and community pride.
Here in America, we need to do the same thing. We need an education revolution in our country.
One that is designed to truly put the learning interests of children first. A revolution that makes it
clear that most of the education issues being discussed are, at best, ancillary to ensuring that
there are high-quality learning opportunities available for each and every American child.
But we need to change our culture before a true revolution can emerge.
In this book, my education manifesto, I will focus on that culture change. I will talk about where
we have been, where we are, and, more importantly, where we need to be. As you read these
pages, you will see how my own personal experiences have helped to shape my views and guide
my thinking around how we can fix what’s wrong with America’s approach to educating its
young. Although I did not know it at the time, I was born into a house that contained its own
learning culture. Both of my parents, particularly my father, planted learning seeds in my siblings
and me such that the quest for knowledge was second nature for all of us. It wasn’t until I got to
law school that I realized the culture of learning created by my parents in our home was not
commonly found in other American households. In their own unique way, my parents kept us
excited about learning and constantly nurtured our curiosity. They made going to the library such
a big deal that I was boastfully proud when I got my own library card. As a young boy, I
developed an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
In that same vein, here in America we need to shift the conversation from one about failing
schools and flatlined achievement gaps to one which generates excitement about learning among
our children and communities. We need to do a cultural pivot. Everything we say and do about
education and learning in America must become aspirational in tone and content. We need an
America where learning becomes infectious. We need an America where the models that work,
be they public, private, charter, digital, or home schooling, are lifted to higher acclaim. And we
need an America where parents and children are at the front of the discussion as opposed to the
end of it.
A large part of building this new American education culture requires a conscious effort to take
politics out of the education discussion. Our sole focus should be to create a national obsession
around learning that transcends the politics of the day. Through this effort, we can develop a new
brand of nationalism that has not been witnessed by most Americans.
It is time for us to get excited about the future of education. It is time for us to celebrate what is
possible rather than what is not. It is time for a different approach to learning. It is time for us to
develop personal and national pride around learning in America. This is my learning manifesto.
~Preface from Kevin's new book: Building A Learning Culture in America
