Challenge and Education

This article supports what I have been saying for a long time, the main problem with our schools, especially in poor and minority areas, is not money, but the fact that we don't expect enough from our students. If you challenge them, they will perform. If you make excuses for them, they will live up to them. What is really sad is we hear this from the students themselves. The professionals we pay to take care of this are clueless.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The campaign to make high school more demanding seems to be picking up support from the people who have the biggest stake in the matter: the students themselves.

Almost nine in 10 students say they would work harder if their high school expected more of them, a survey finds. Less than one-third of students say their school sets high academic expectations, and most students favor ideas that might add some hassle to their life, such as more rigorous graduation standards and additional high-stakes testing.