Vox pupils - correspondence - Letter to the Editor

Education Next, Fall, 2003 by Ganesh Sitaraman

The Koret Task Force on K-12 education ("Are We Still at Risk?" Forum, Spring 2003) left a crucial group out of its assessment of the education system: students. No students were on the task force, and none was even involved in determining their policy recommendations.

Koret is not alone. The Education Commission of the States requires prospective commissioners to "reflect broadly the interests of the member government, higher education, the state education system, local education, lay and professional persons, and public and nonpublic educational leadership." The commissioners represent the interests of virtually every education-related group except students.

Before we can determine how best to reform education, we must answer a crucial question: Why are young people not learning? Ultimately, teachers, parents, scholars, and lawmakers can answer this question only to a limited degree. They are not the ones rocketing through adolescence while reading Salinger and studying cellular mitosis.

Current students and recent graduates from junior high and high school understand best what obstacles they and their peers encounter. They are able to reflect on their experiences, identify what works and why, and pinpoint what can be improved. Students, for example, may be indifferent to using technology as a teaching tool, but may insist on the efficacy of smaller classes. Students could answer important questions--but no one is asking them.

GANESH SITARAMAN

Cambridge, Massachusetts