I have trouble understanding why the public doesn’t insist that we provide quality education to all children. I believe that deep down we Americans share some common values. I’m pretty sure they include freedom and liberty. I thought they also included justice and fairness.

So, after over a decade of being ruled by an education law that has proven itself failed and detrimental, why has the inaction of our congress not moved the country to engage in a conversation about the nitty-gritty of No Child Left Behind?

It isn’t hard to draw parents with school-aged children into that conversation. If they have kids in a less than excellent school, they see how the law has bound too many of us to a teach-to-the-test mentality that is sucking the joy out of teaching and learning. How have parents responded?

It used to be that teachers looked down on the idea of teaching to the test; have they now bent down in servitude to a false symbol of quality, the test score? What will it take for them to rise up?

Now, what about the others — the 75 to 80% that are not directly involved in public schools — the general public that claims education is important? Why have we not demanded an explanation of why the law failed and why it hasn’t been changed?

It’s worrisome. Where are the people that should be behind pushing this issue in the right direction?