Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has big plans to reform education, but there are no quick fixes

Susan Demas:

I don't have a magic bullet to fixing education Michigan.

And the truth is, no politician does, either. The vast majority come up with some sound bites and maybe a bill or two that simply validate their ideology and pay back their favorite interest groups. The goal is to help out the teachers' unions or pump up private schools.

Few of them are really trying to improve how kids learn.

Like many governors before him, Gov. Rick Snyder is trying to leave his mark on the state's educational system and I wish him the best of luck. The only hope for this generation of kids is to get a top-notch education from preschool to postgrad -- and the governor is dead-on to take that kind of holistic approach.

Snyder is a great role model, having earned three degrees from the University of Michigan by the age of 23.

As for the governor's education doctrine, it's a pretty standard reform agenda that includes revamping tenure, holding teachers accountable for student performance, computerized learning, more options for high schoolers to earn college credit and degrees and an emphasis on early childhood education.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 11, 2011 1:03 AM
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