Teaching ELA: An international Comparative Perspective

In an interview, Marc Tucker, head of the National Center on Education and the Economy, and the founder of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, talked about the purpose of schooling. He said he doubts that he has anything original to say about what the purpose of schooling is. In his mind, it has many quite different purposes. Among them, as Thomas Jefferson pointed out a long time ago, is to make the democracy viable. It's not possible, in an increasingly complex world, to have a government (that) rests on the people unless the people are committed, responsible, knowledgeable, and thoughtful citizens. Another purpose is to enable people to make broadly shared prosperity possible by enabling everyone to support themselves and their family and to enjoy the dignity that comes with the ability to make an important contribution to the economic life of their community.