THE NEW K-12 POLITICS and ITS threat to students

Confidence in school reform efforts is declining, and and the scourge of structural racism is increasingly identified as the underlying cause of all other obstacles to a just and equitable society. In the Trump era, when many marginalized groups feel more threatened than ever before, the work of combating racism takes on fresh urgency.

But I wonder: Will this shift come at the expense of immediate actions to improve institutions, especially K-12, and benefit today’s generation of students? Will the fierce drive to eradicate racism in the organizations that educate children accelerate learning? Or will it foster division and draw attention away from the myriad actions required today to strengthen teaching and learning?

Fostering curiosity

It is not enough that students perform exceptionally well on tests. The next challenge for the charter sector, I believe, is to foster exceptionally curious students.

We need teachers who are themselves alive with ideas and academic passions, who bring the tussle of ideas to their own classrooms.

Our schools must afford students the opportunity to identify and develop their sense of wonder about the world and nurture their emerging academic and artistic interests. For once curiosity is ignited in children, it will propel them forward—and achievement will naturally follow.