“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. it is dearness only that gives everything its value.–Thomas Paine
These words, spoken by Thomas Pain in 1776, may seem to describe our current situation. Taken in the current context, this is not a political statement from your publisher. I am not writing so much about current events as the state of our education system as it now stands. Whether you agree with the current effort to dissolve the Department of Education or the other events unfolding on a weekly, daily or hourly basis, I think we can all agree on one thing. Our systems of education must change. They are based on a vision of education that has remained, virtually unchanged, for more than 150 years.
Change can be frightening. Even when that change is sorely needed. Intellectually, we know that it is not okay for less than half our students to perform at the mythical “grade level,” and that it is not okay for many of our graduates to be functionally illiterate, and unable to figure a 15 percent tip in their heads. Education, with all its faults, can be very comforting, very familiar. But the feeling is false. And we can no longer allow ourselves to be comforted by a system that guarantees mediocracy. So, I will not advise you to remain calm. In fact, my best advice to you is to panic. Panic now.
Thomas Paine, back in 1776 , had this to say about panic.
Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered.
For the first time in our history, we have both the will and the means to make the changes necessary for our children. And we may not realize it now, but we have been given a gift in Al. This still emerging technology in conjunction with our exceptionally brilliant and caring educators will allow us to chart a course to an end game that includes happy and successful learners who are engaged and ready to take on the world that we leave them. So panic, but let your panic be short lived. And then let’s all roll up our sleeves and get to work.
About the author
Charles Sosnik is the publisher of Educate Al Magazine. He is a long-time writer in American education and has held the position of Editor in Chief for some of education’s top media platforms.
Although Charles is an editor by trade, he is Southern by the Grace of God.
