As administrators, teachers and parents all testify, the current American educational system is a virtual minefield of bureaucracy. Educators are burdened with an ever-increasing list of laws, rules, and regulations that prevent teachers from doing their jobs and administrators from running schools. These legal roadblocks make it exceedingly difficult to bring better governance to school systems and effectively educate America’s children.

Are schools more bureaucratic than other public institutions? What factors have contributed to the steady growth in bloated school bureaucracies? Why is there such resistance to decentralizing power in school systems? How do we cut through the red tape and nurture a culture of performance in schools, rather than one of compliance?

Be sure to watch the discussion, beginning Nov. 6!
In the meantime, view our archives for the full text of all of our past discussions.

News reports, medical studies, and daily observations have been telling us for years that America is facing an obesity crisis, particularly among our children. They are eating more and moving less. That sedentary lifestyle and fitness, particularly among kids, was the focus of the first of a two-part discussion of what has been called an epidemic. Our experts included those whose work and policies are striving to change the alarming lack of physical activity in our culture.

Where is that line drawn between judges ruling in a specific case and setting a standard by which we all abide? Our panelists largely agreed that setting social policy is an inevitable consequence of judicial rulings, but does that constitute judicial activism?

Why overhaul chronic care delivery? For starters, about 75% of health care spending goes toward chronic conditions, and our panelists agreed that the current system is plagued by waste and poor quality.

Many in America think government should be run differently. It is seen as opaque, unresponsive and bureaucratic, allergic to tough tradeoffs, paralyzed by partisanship, and fiscally irresponsible. Not surprisingly, our panel came out of the gate with no-nonsense suggestions for government reform...

Our forum members agreed that meaning and purpose are central to an optimistic outlook. Challenges can promote a more purposeful life, while affluence and privilege may encourage complacency, or as Martin Marty quoted, a "leanness of the soul." Gregg Easterbrook wrote of the importance of recovering a sense of purpose as a society "since if you believe life has meaning, then you must reach out to help others."

In one word: No. The NewTalk forum experts were unanimous in their opinion about over-reliance on test results as a means toward school reform: public schools administer too many standardized tests and place too much emphasis on the outcomes. The result is distorted classroom priorities and diminished quality of teaching and learning.