Change has been on the minds of many lately – we'd like to change our economy, our laws and our schools. Former Yale University President Benno Schmidt repeated that message in Stiteler Hall yesterday, discussing the need to change the way primary and secondary school systems function. Schmidt, speaking on behalf of The Edison Project, which is working to develop a nationwide system of private schools, began his presentation by discussing some of the problems in the American public school system. One third of American high school juniors cannot locate France on a map, and another 42 percent of the nation's 11th graders cannot place World War I within a 50-year span, he said. However, the Edison project official noted that many Americans are handicapped by social and economic disadvantages and that not all Americans have enjoyed the same opportunities. "Education is by far the single most important institutional door of opportunity that we have," Schmidt said. "Education ought to be the main institutional way in which we try to lessen these divisions in our society." In his presentation, sponsored by the Zweig Executive Dinner Series, Schmidt noted that throwing money at the problem is not enough, noting that higher spending on primary and secondary education over the last 20 years has not improved students' achievement levels. He argued that the lack of innovative development in the academic field has hurt schoolchildren and called the American public school system a "bureaucratic monopoly." For example, Schmidt blamed public school systems for not spending enough money on the new technology and research. "Much less than one percent of [available] capital is spent on technology," he said. "Imagine if you were running a movie business and didn't respond to the changes, you would be history." Schmidt added that there has been no investment in the professional development of teachers. The Edison Project, which will be presented to interested school boards around the country this winter, hopes to present creative solutions to education system's problems. The project's goal is to create an integrated system of school curriculum, research, development and design. It will also give the teachers incentives to provide good instruction to their students. Schmidt said that the project would give teachers the opportunity to move away from relating to their students "dominantly" as groups, and toward treating them as individuals. After his presentation, during a question and answer session, one audience member asked Schmidt who stood to lose in the Edison Project's proposed competitive school environment. Schmidt's response argued that the program would give schools an incentive to try harder and that the only losers would be unsuccessful schools, which would eventually "whither away." "If we fail, they can fire us," he said.
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