In 2007 Newsweek published an article about the growing concern that our children are becoming increasingly disinterested in school and are falling behind in science, math, and reading. A more recent commentary by Dr. John Eger, wisely warns, “We cannot continue to fail to put creativity at the center of education”. Dr. Eger holds the Van Deerlin Endowed Chair of Communications and Public Policy in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University and like many of us, is concerned that kids are apparently losing their creative drive and expressive abilities.
Yet when I go to cultural events like the recent Las Golondrinas Fall Harvest Festival, I see kids engaged, thriving, learning. So are kids losing their creative drive or are we squashing it with an over-emphasis on wrote memorization and standardized tests? These are concerning questions that are at the heart of education policy reform.
I argue these questions are also at the heart of economic policy reform.