Former U.S. Sen. Bill Brock has served Tennessee and the nation ably in the past, but he is not resting on his laurels today.
Sen. Brock, a longtime Chattanoogan who now lives in Maryland, has spent the past few years passionately advocating education reforms to help American students compete with the best students in the world. He recently brought that message to McCallie School, from which he graduated in 1949.
His words were urgent and direct: “It’s terrifying that other countries are doing a better job with their children than we are,” he said. “We simply have to say, ‘Enough.’ We are not going to put up with it. We’ve got to change.”
Teachers need the tools to succeed, he added, noting that the United States is only 21st in math and 25th in science in world rankings. That renders many of our students incapable of competing in the global economy, he said.
There are several components to educational success, he added. They include a nurturing beginning for each child, as well as meaningful academic standards and orderly classrooms. He also said the Internet and related technology need to be an integral part of the classroom.
“It’s no good to sit around and whine like a hound dog sitting on a tack,” he colorfully observed. “(W)e have to get up and do something, and that would mean changing the system.”
Fixing what ails our educational system will not be easy, but Sen. Brock has offered sound principles that should be part of any solution.