A Task of Leadership

As long as schools of education attempt to dance to the cacophony of tunes played by hundreds of special-interest pipers, they will always be judged wanting, Mr. Lynch avers. It is again time for schools of education and their host universities to lead the education debate with research and reason and to advocate for principle without the prejudice of special-interest politics. IN HIS letter to the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD), President Trachtenberg reminded me less of Paul Revere's fabled ride and more of our university's namesake during the winter at Valley Forge. General Washington remained with his troops in the frosty Pennsylvania countryside to encourage and bolster the rebels through the rebellion's darkest hour. But it wasn't just concern for the troops that motivated him; politics played a role as well. The effect that the tenacious survival of the Colonial army would have on the British Parliament and on the French would mean the difference between defeat and victory. The parallels between the politically astute leadership of the nation's first President and that needed from our university's president to meet the challenge confronting education are obvious and much more significant than any likeness to the aborted warnings of a Boston silversmith. The task at hand is one of leadership. The faculty of the GSEHD is composed of professional educators and scholars who are well versed in research literature, public policy debates, media reports, and popular culture as these pertain to our fields of study. But education is a broad field with room for many players. Within the university, it is our colleagues in the humanities, the sciences, business, law, medicine, engineering, and public affairs who should hear the clarion call and be encouraged to join our noble challenge. Outside the university's gates, other constituencies also need to be addressed; it is proper and heroic for the university to assume a leadership role in education at all levels and equally proper for the university's president to lead the effort. I can only assume that President Trachtenberg sent the letter to our school to make sure he got the message right before carrying it to the world. President Trachtenberg wrote that during the 1960s and 1970s universities were forced to give up their "Ivory Tower pretensions. " I submit that not all the university's towers were ivory. Indeed, many professional schools and colleges, including schools of education, have been socially active and committed to progressive social change and "relevance" during much of the 20th century. The social and intellectual leadership that universities once provided, however, does seem to have diminished. Much of the kind of activity that President Trachtenberg is seeking has been lost to economic necessity, but the desire to play a significant role in public policy and cultural evolution remains. To reestablish such a role will require resources, to be sure, but, most important, it will require the will of the university to put its formidable reputation on the line. This effort will take nothing less than the clear vision and forthright leadership of our president. It is exciting indeed that education is rising in importance and that the role "teacher of teachers" will be receiving the kind of high-level attention usually reserved for national defense and the economy. GSEHD prepares professionals in education and human development, only some of whom will become classroom teachers, but all of whom are important to the future of education and training. The reality of our school's diversity of focus is important because education is not limited to the rather narrow concept of "schooling. " There can be no doubt that our society requires a work force that can compete globally, but achieving that goal certainly extends far beyond better preparation of teachers for public schools. …