The threat comes not only from the critics and from those who would destroy public education through vouchers or other means. It comes from a dramatically changing world that allows students and parents to access learning without going to a formal institution called school. We cannot hope to remain America if we lose the values that have underpinned our democracy and that have been transferred through public education. However, we must guard against a blind adherence to old ways of doing business. What must be preserved is public education, not public schools.
Public education is the substance.
Public schools are merely the form. We must remain open to other forms of delivering the substance. That calls for us to be open and creative. School system leaders must not stand in the schoolhouse door in an effort to block any idea or innovation that might threaten our old forms. We must continue to act as the heart and soul of the values that were once embedded in these old forms.