"America's high schools are obsolete"-Bill Gates

The most blunt assessment came from Microsoft chief Bill Gates, who has put more than $700 million into reducing the size of high school classes through the foundation formed by him and his wife, Melinda. He said high schools must be redesigned to prepare every student for college, with classes that are rigorous and relevant to kids and with supportive relationships for children.

"America's high schools are obsolete," Gates said "America's high schools are obsolete," Gates said. "By obsolete, I don't just mean that they're broken, flawed or underfunded, though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean our high schools _ even when they're working as designed _ cannot teach all our students what they need to know today."

Here's a radical idea. Maybe it's time for the government to get out of the education business all together.

Children need Honest Education
Separating School from State
Is the Only Way to Get There
Fifty years ago, Americans were thunderstruck by Rudolph Flesch's best seller, "Why Johnny Can't Read." Today we have evidence that Johnny not only can't read, but he doesn't even want to. Worse, Johnny can't behave himself. What happened?

The "Three R's"
Many parents believe that the core of "education" is primarily learning the Three R's: Readin', Writin', and 'Rithmatic.
With the media attention to test scores of schools, districts, and states—and politicians sensing that "education is a hot issue"—school leaders have developed a mania for looking good on tests.

Odd as it may seem, their low-score phobia pushes them to turning children into test-taking robots. Many a teacher will tell you that we are drifting ever further from genuine education.

"Education" is more than skills training
When our schools help an intelligent person become the smartest accountant in the world, but somehow undermine his moral formation, they turn out an embezzler you can't catch. Traditional educators, on the other hand, held "wisdom"—not just skills—as the goal of an educated person. But for over a century, American school leaders have more and more focused on "career skills" and for over a half-century, on "life adjustment" or "social skills" as the ultimate goal for their students.

This is dishonest. Schools implicitly tell students a lie: Mere professional and social success can bring satisfaction. How many parents believe that a person can find happiness by selling a cancer therapy he knew was a fraud?

We in the Alliance for Separation of School & State believe that the restoration of "Honest Education" can help every Johnny and Jill on their path to wisdom.

Indeed, even the earliest stages of wisdom—for example, diligence—will help them apply themselves to learning the many important skills of life, including Readin', Writin', and 'Rithmatic.

"I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government involvement in education."