The rapid changes in the workplace demand that we strengthen our training and continuing education programs to help working men and women prepare for the jobs that are available. But we also must strengthen our commitment to liberal education and to the basics if we are to adapt well to the technological revolution. The only solution that will allow us to sort through the glut of information now before us is an education that provides context and touchstones to guide each of us along the way. No dogma or ideology can substitute in a free society for the best energies and ideas that each of our minds has to offer. And, no policy in Washington or Topeka can substitute for the active involvement of a community in setting high standards for its schools and insisting that those standards be met.
Education is the foundation on which all else that is good in our society rests.
In a very real sense, our teachers, our school administrators and our community members and businesses who actively participate in educating our children serve the highest calling of democracy. Finally, as in every period of turmoil, the challenges and opportunities ahead will place a high premium on bold and effective leadership and on informed and active citizenship. If leaders and citizens pull together, we can open the way to an era of civic revival. If that teamwork fails, the challenges will multiply and opportunities will evaporate. Real leadership takes risks.