Thanks for your comment Jim. I think there are definitely debates to be had about curriculum and pedagogy, and I agree with your point that more civics and American history is needed. But I’d go a step beyond and say that we need to broaden the curriculum even further, to ensure that students are also exposed to the natural and social sciences, art, and literature, in equal measure to math and reading skills. Going forward, students will need a broad base of knowledge, and a curriculum that encourages them to think critically and solve novel problems, if they’re to thrive in the 21st century economy.

My argument in my school-funding posts has been that this is the education offered at schools serving affluent students, but not at schools serving non-affluent students. And in order for this type of education to be available to all students, more funding is needed – to pay teachers a competitive salary, to keep classes to a reasonable size, and for high-quality curricular resources.

And I’d argue this is especially true in Michigan, where the basic foundation grant has declined 15% since 2002.

Before you try to Guilt Trip me into opening my wallet even further, let’s go back to tools that worked.