For Readers, A Conversation About Education

I retired in June, sort of, but not really. When I took the early retirement package The Post offered, it was clear to everyone -- my family, my colleagues and particularly me -- that I was too immature to change my daily routine in any way and not fall apart. So The Post kindly gave me a contract so I could keep coming to work and writing about schools. It's pathetic, but that's all I want to do.

Part of the deal is this new education column, to run every Monday in the Metro section, in addition to the Extra Credit column I do for The Post's Extra sections on Thursday and the Monday online column, Class Struggle, I do for washingtonpost.com.

There are not many education columns these days. Some would allege that is because the subject is so dull. I would say it is because it is too dangerous. Columnists who write about sports or politics or finance can say anything they want, and people will accept it as interesting commentary, since most of us, when it comes to those fields of endeavor, are just spectators. We might have a little money on a game or a candidate or a stock, but that's about it.

Schools, on the other hand, are an integral part of our lives. Almost every one of us went to school. Many of us have children struggling with homework. Most American parents think the most important thing they can do for their kids is make sure they get a good education. Writers who mess around with such a personal issue find that readers have very passionate views on the matter. Factions form. Tempers are lost. You can get scorched if you aren't careful.

But I have been writing about students, educators, parents and policymakers long enough to know that I can avoid serious injury by remembering, whenever I start tapping at the keyboard, that none of us knows for sure what will help our schools improve, and many people know more than I do. That being the case, I need your help. I intend this column to be a weekly conversation. I will be responding to e-mails, having online chats and occasionally writing columns readers have suggested.

Since I walked into Garfield High School in East Los Angeles 26 years ago and was intrigued to see low-income students succeeding in a torturously difficult calculus class, I have searched for other teachers and schools that defy expectations by significantly raising the achievement of our most disadvantaged children. Most of my books have addressed that issue, in my view the most important of our era. I have also written about schools in our most affluent communities and where they sometimes go wrong. In the Washington area, we have some of the best schools in the country, and some of the worst. I will write about both, particularly about their teachers. In my experience, they are the most knowledgeable, and often least consulted, experts on how to enhance learning.

What will this school year bring? Here are some questions I plan to explore:

1. Will Michelle A. Rhee succeed? The D.C. schools chancellor, and her ally Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, are the most interesting education story in the country. She is making many changes that the best teachers I know support, and a few changes that puzzle them.

2. Will Prince George's County finally reach its potential as an educational model for ethnically diverse suburbs? The Maryland district, despite its checkered political history and large number of disadvantaged students, has also picked a superintendent -- John Deasy -- whose moves please the teachers who most influence my views.

3. Can schools in Fairfax and Montgomery counties and our other wealthy suburbs survive another round of budget cuts without tarnishing their reputation as some of the best public systems in the country? I often call suburban Washington the golden triangle of American schools. Nowhere else is the teaching as good or the standards as high. But tax revenues are down. That will make it difficult to maintain such quality.

4. Can those two sworn enemies, regular and charter public schools, ever learn to live together? It often seems impossible to get those two groups of intelligent and caring educators to agree on anything. That is not good and doesn't help kids.

5. Is there a way a parent can arrange a good education for a child with learning disabilities without going broke, or crazy? I have not covered this important subject very well. I hope to do better.

6. Can our obsession with college admission be turned into a love of learning? Maybe. Maybe not. Stay tuned.

7. What can we do about dropouts? This is the educational problem for which we have the fewest solutions. We need to look for more.

For good measure, here are three more: Why are colleges so clueless about how to help high schools prepare students? Can we do anything about the erratic and confusing way children are graded? And, crucially, how can we produce the best teachers possible for every one of our kids?

My e-mail address is mathewsj@washpost.com. Tell me what you know. We may get into a lot of trouble. My contract is only year to year. There are great risks in looking closely at schools. But let's give it a try.