- Remake schools for the 21st century.
- Pay teachers adequately.
- Narrow the role of government, and let educators lead the way.
- Make teaching a venerated profession.
- Treat teachers as nation builders.
- Don't underinvest in education.
- Keep the best teachers in the classroom.
- Provide autonomy for teachers.
- Use the Department of Education as an engine of innovation.
Teachers in the audience were moved to question. They questioned the methods used to reach the goals above. Methods that many feel are not reliable, and serve to belittle and degrade teachers. I agree that it's a time to transform the profession, and I also believe that the transformation should come from educational professionals utilizing respectful evidence-based processes and methods that create conditions for excellence for all of the nation's children.
