Richard W. Riley's Remarks
NCTAF Co-Chair
NCTAF 2008 Annual Symposium
Washington, D.C.
July 10, 2008

Creating New Opportunities for 21 st Century Learning

Thank you, Tom, for your very kind introduction. It is a great pleasure to be here with the NCTAF family and to see so many longtime friends who have been working so hard in our communities in behalf of America’s children.

We are at a momentous time in our nation’s history – we'll have a defining Presidential election, to say the least. I believe that the rest of the world is waiting on pins and needles to find out how the American people are going to vote in November.

This election is very much about the future and America’s role in the world. So it makes a great deal of sense that ourSymposium is all about designing and defining a new direction for public education.

I am so pleased that my friend, Congressman George Miller,the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, was here with us today. Congressman Miller is one of our most thoughtful leaders about the future of American education. Above all, he recognizes that our schools will improve only when we
transform the teaching profession.

In Tom Carroll's remarks, he defined the many challenges that we face in public education, including the impending staffing crisis. At the same time, he has zeroed in on the reality that we must make a sharp break with the past and stop tinkering with a system that is already broken. As Tom so eloquently pointed out, we are at the tipping point between "Teaching 1.0" and "Teaching 2.0."

Our challenge is to lead the way . . . to use all of our creative energies to make the tip actually happen – that is, to break through the natural inclination to hold on to what we know; to break from the practices that are within our comfort zone but may have little bearing on preparing our children for the current and coming times in this 21 st Century.

I support Tom’s call for a sharp break from the past and the need for a new direction. Let me share some of my thoughts with you.

First, I feel strongly that we must put improving and investing in education on the national agenda. I am sure that this is on the mind of Congressman Miller . . . and it certainly will be at the top of the education agenda of the next President of the United States.

Now . . . I know that some of you may want to throw up your hands and say, "Not a chance; that’s not going to happen. Our next President will be spending his time on the economy, the war, health care reform and an energy policy" – all of which certainly will demand his attention.

But before jumping to a conclusion, let’s reflect a moment.

Last Monday, for example, there was a New York Times article about the computer "search terms” that people use to find out about the two presidential candidates. Many would assume that the war, health care and the economy would be the top three search terms. But, surprisingly, that is not the case.
For Barack Obama, education ranked #2 on the list of search terms (after abortion). For John McCain, health care was the #1 search term . . . but education was #4.

So, in a very real way, the American people are searching for a President who has an education agenda. This is a very positive sign.

I am hopeful that our next President also will recognize that the longterm success of our great nation depends on the quality ofeducation that we provide for all of our people. Our economy will not come roaring back and our role as a world leader will not be sustained if we cannot give our citizens the skills they need to thrive in a complex and diverse global community.

India and China – the new rising powers in the world – have been making massive investments in education . . . investments that are now paying off handsomely for them.

We, on the other hand, have been spending our “seed corn” to cover the cost of a war that, in my view, need not have happened. In the last eight years, our nation has spent $872 billion fighting a twofront war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Imagine what we could have accomplished if we had invested even half of that
sum in providing an excellent education for all of our children. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke (a South Carolinian, I might add) has had his hands full these last few months dealing with the fallout from the subprime
mortgage collapse. But in a recent speech at Harvard, he made the case that the best way to reduce the rising income inequality in our nation is to invest in education in all of its various forms.

So we must make the case that our great nation will not thrive or become a more equal society unless we sustain and increase our investments in education.

At the same time, though, we cannot invest another dollar in outdated education systems that no longer work for most of our young people in this day and age. We cannot remain tied to an industrial model of education that has no place in this 21 st Century. Instead, we must tie any new investments in education to
systemic transformation, beginning with the teaching profession.

We are well past the time when we can tinker around the edges. Like every profession, teaching must go through a profound transformation. And you are the leaders who will make that happen. We need to get on with the doing . . . to get on with the business of pressing hard for change. That is what this symposium is all about. I am pleased that you will deal with the Education Map of the Future … projectbased learning … the New Tech High School, which is an interesting model. Horace Mann, the father of the "common" school – now the "public" school – always had two core missions: (1) teach children the knowledge they need to live in the world, and (2) teach them to be informed and active citizens. The teaching of civics and government is important in developing the qualities of citizenship.

We also need to define a new balance between the federal government and the states and create many more opportunities for innovation and experimentation at the state level. I believe that we should have a common core of academic standards for our nation, while at the same time allowing our 50 states to devise their own method for meeting those standards. Some states will move a little, others won’t move at all – but I believe that many will seize the moment and make the jump to lead the way. America's strength is in our innovation, our diversity and our multiple pathways to success.

Finally, our next President will preside over a nation that will be going through an enormous generational change as the Baby Boomers start to retire in massive numbers. By 2010, less than two years from now, the number of families with children – the traditional base of support for public education – will reach a new
historic low of just twenty five percent (25%) of the overall population. Think about that for a minute. It means that seventy five percent (75%) of America's population will have no direct links to our nation’s public schools. If we do not engage this large segment of the population in a positive way, it will be very
easy for them to turn their back on public education. We cannot take their support for granted. At the same time, 1.7 million teachers – more than onehalf of our current teaching force – will begin to leave the classroom. The retirement of these experienced educators will exacerbate our current school staffing model, which already is in a state of collapse. We must find a way to retain many of these teachers in the years ahead as mentors and leaders of crossgenerational teams.

I also urge you to see the retirement of the BabyBoom generation as an opportunity not to be missed. Many retiring Baby Boomers from all walks of life will want, or need, to continue to work. And, equally important, the vast majority of them want to give back to society in some way.

So I urge you to create new pathways and opportunities to engage these skilled workers in support of public education. And here we must think in very new terms. Most of these retirees will not be interested in volunteering to be your lunchroom aide or to help with copying papers.

We must be creative and find ways to engage graphic artists, engineers, scientists, bankers and older Americans from all walks of life to help teach our children. Just as we need to organize our schools for success, we must see this as an opportunity to organize our communities for success . . . to cross the generational and class lines that too often divide us. Working with master teachers, these engaged Baby Boomers can take the lead in supporting service learning, projectbased learning, afterschool and outdoor learning activities. Just last week, Barack Obama proposed the expansion of Americorps to include a Classroom Corps, which would be designed to capture the enthusiasm of Baby Boomers who want to support public education. John McCain made a similar proposal. This is a very good idea that I support.

So, in a nutshell, these are my thoughts. One, we must put education on the national agenda. Two, we must develop a new relationship between the federal government and the states in order to improve education. Three, we must lead the way in transforming the teaching profession. And, four, we must capture
the retirement of the Baby Boom generation as a unique opportunity to sustain and engage new support for public education.

That is my charge to you as we all go forward with this NCTAF Symposium and in the years immediately ahead in "building a 21 st Century education system."

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