A Message to Business: We Need You and You Need Us

School Administrator, June, 1996 by Donald Thompson

Unfortunately, people sometimes talk past each other and about each other rather than with each other. Educators and business people have too often done that to each other. A recent example is the National Summit on Education in March.

At that gathering, hosted by the National Governors' Association, some business leaders decried the state of public education and announced what they consider the solutions to the problem. The few educators who attended generally were assigned to the back row without microphones.

If we're serious about education reform, and we'd better be, let's stop the finger-pointing and start talking with each other about the important roles everyone needs to play on the education team, including business and industry.

Most educators are fully aware that your future employees are in school today. So are your future markets. It's a fact that better-educated people likely will have more money to spend on your products and services tomorrow.

As you know, education has purposes that go beyond employability. For example, our schools try to provide students with an education that helps them to reach their own goals and to have a sense of personal fulfillment. Schools also educate students to become citizens of their communities, their states, their nation, and their world. Our very quality of life depends on sound education for all students.

Educators have awesome responsibilities, and they often have to overcome great odds to deliver the goods. The obstacles range from worsening social and economic conditions affecting young people to a lack of funding. The chances that schools will fundamentally change is put in jeopardy when some people in society challenge educators to do a better job and then rush to their state legislatures to lobby against financial support.

Yes. The nature of our education system must change. Yes. Schools need advice and support from business and industry. Yes. We need safe schools. Yes. We need higher standards and the resources to help students meet them.

On the other hand, businesses need a great deal of help, too. Many are in trouble, laying off tens of thousands of workers. When people lose their jobs, families are in trouble, and when families are in trouble, children show it immediately. It's a fact that there are social consequences for every economic decision. Our mutual interest in a strong economy and a civil society are inextricably linked.

The bottom line is that some visionary CEO of a major business must step up to the plate with educators at the national level and declare, "This is nonsense. Let's work together." Let's hold a national summit that includes educators, business leaders, and governors as equal partners--a summit aimed at developing a new model for addressing educational problems facing this country. Problems facing American education never will get fixed until we decide to address our concerns together.

We can all do better so let's get on with it. While everyone is busy posturing, the kids are suffering.

The future is in our hands. Let's get together and do something about it. We need you, and you need us.