Almost 95 percent of schools are now connected to the Internet. I am especially disappointed by people who want to run down public education. I am tired of the negative political voices that tell us that vouchers are the silver-bullet answer and the only way to improve public education. Well, they aren't. Vouchers drain funds from public education and they divert us from the real challenge of lifting up all of our children-not just a few of our children, but all of our children.
Vouchers are a mistake.
And I believe that they are a mistake for private and parochial schools as well, because they, in turn, will become less private and less parochial. I believe that years from now people will look back and say, yes, at the beginning of the 21st century, public education truly was transformed. Standards were raised. High expectations became the hallmark of every public school. A new sense of flexibility and innovation took hold, and parents were given more choices.