Congresswoman Dow, I have been slow to respond to your commentary on School Choice in the Las Cruces Bulletin, Aug 19th. The reason is that I am also a proponent of better choices being made available but after over ten years of trying to get this message across to the ones that would have to personally make those choices I find the public on the consuming and the producing side of education to be the proverbial deer in the headlights as to how they would make that choice and then assume the responsibility that comes with it. Thus, they default to the PED bureaucracy to tell them what to do so as to defer responsibility. The dog chasing it’s own tail. If you want to help the public you must use your position of influence to offer what they need most, educational material on what school with respect to the student needs to be. The public in general has opinions based on their own history but they are completely lost when it comes to preparing students so that they can succeed in “their” futures. My two most highly suggested resources are the recently published works of the late Ken Robinson, “Imagine If, Creating a Future For Us All”, and Michael Horn’s of the Christiansen Institute, “From Reopen to Reinvent, Recreating School for Every Child”. Attached is my education resource collection that few if any are willing to assume the responsibility to dive into possibly because with knowledge comes responsibility. The words School Choice are a great political campaign slogan but offer no sustenance in the discussion without a strong definition of “What is the purpose of school” being front row center in that conversation. How to accomplish student centric education must become the standard talk amongst parents and concerned educators in order for any meaningful choices to be clearly understood and made. Education is the answer but the ones needing it are the ones that are required to make the choices. Rob Wood 575-635-0803 Las Cruces
