It Is A Commonplace By Now To

When I Was Young, I Was Religious.

By Far The Most Important Factor In The Success Or Failure Of Any School, Far More Important Than Tests Or Standards Or Business-model Methods Of Accountability, Is Simply Attracting The Best-educated, Most Exciting Young People Into Urban Schools And Keeping Them There.

My Goal Is To Connect The Young Teachers To The Old, To Reignite Their Sense Of Struggle.

During The Decades After Brown V. Board Of Education There Was Terrific Progress. Tens Of Thousands Of Public Schools Were Integrated Racially. During That Time The Gap Between Black And White Achievement Narrowed.

Let's Concede That We Have Decided To Let Our Children Grow Up In Two Separate Nations, And Lead Two Separate Kinds Of Lives. If, On The Other Hand, We Have The Courage To Rise To This Challenge To Name What's Happening Within Our Inner-city Schools, Then We Also Need The Courage To Be Activist And Go Out And Fight Like Hell To Change It.