Mathews: National Curriculum Would Stifle Innovation

In his Washington Post (9/6) "Class Struggle" column, Jay Mathews writes that national curriculum standards "sounds great. But it won't help and won't work. Such specific standards stifle creativity and conflict with a two-century American preference for local decision-making about schools." Mathews suggests that rather than focusing on a national curriculum, education policymakers should "focus on better teaching methods and better training of teachers, as well as school structures that help educators work more as teams. Those teachers could then employ whatever methods and standards make sense for their students."