Nov. 20, 1996
The President
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C.
20500
Dear Mr. President:
There is no greater threat to the future of America than the failure to educate our children. Yet, the output of our educational system continues to deteriorate. There is no alternative -- this intolerable situation must be resolved.
Unfortunately, the prospects for halting the decline of education merely by increasing funding are bleak. The current national outcry for standards of learning reflects the need for our educational system to focus on content and academics. Unfortunately, these simple ideas are not compatible with the reform efforts of the last fifty years, and there is every reason to believe that standards based on content and academics will be subverted before they ever reach the classrooms of America.
This letter is not a plea to eliminate the Department of Education nor a request for the removal or restructuring of the Goals 2000 program. We ask but one simple thing. Think of it as a favor from the President of the United States to the children of America. All we ask is that you, personally, read The Schools We Need & Why We Don't Have Them by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
It is our belief that in reading this book you will gain important insight into the gravity of the problem and realize why we are pessimistic about the current prospects for revitalizing education in America. We believe that you will see the need to make the repair of American education a top priority for your second term. We even believe that you will come to feel, as we do, that it is imperative that you bring E. D. Hirsch into your service to advise you directly on these matters.
These are our beliefs and our prayers for the future of our children. Our request to you remains a small one. Please, please read Hirsch's book.
Department of Mathematics
University of California, Davis
Former President of the Mathematical Association of America
Former Chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents
Former Member of the California State Board of Education
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Elmhurst College
Former President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
President, Center for Education Reform
Washington, D.C.
La Canada Math Advisory Group
La Canada, California
Santa Barbara
Chairman, Citizens for Truth in Education
Simi Valley, California
Department of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin
Santa Barbara
Mathematics & Computer Sciences
California State University, LA
School Board Member
Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District
Former mathematics teacher
Santa Barbara
Professor of Psychology, Palomar College
Founding Member of Mathematically Correct
Parent, San Diego
Biomedical Statistician, San Diego
Founding Member of Mathematically Correct
Parent, San Diego
Citizens United for Education
Riverside, California
Novato, California
Instructor, Special Education Dept., Northern Illinois University
Behavioral Consultant to a number of suburban Chicago Districts
St. Charles, Ill
President, Project Educate
Wichita, Kansas
Parent, Mt. Diablo School District, California
Hudson Institute
writer/lecturer/Geologist
Santa Barbara
Mathematics Teacher
The Sewickley Academy Middle School
Corporate Director-Human Resources
ALCOA
Professor of Mathematics
University of Texas
President, Help Our Public Education
Minneapolis, MN
Director of the Education Research Network
Member of the Learning Disabilities Association
Senior Engineer
Fulshear, Texas
Santa Barbara
Parent
Math Tutor
Mathematically Correct
San Diego, CA
Mother of Four
Foster Mother of 17
Vice-president, Citizens United for Education
Riverside, CA
Santa Barbara
Professor of Mathematics, Yale University
Santa Barbara
Mother of two school children
Former Associated Press reporter and columnist
Author of 40 novels
Former National Board Member, Romance Writers of America
Professor of legal and ethical studies
College of Business
Arizona State University
Santa Barbara
Professor of Medicine
University of Wisconsin Medical School
Board Member of Parents Raising Educational Standards in Schools (PRESS)
Operations Research
Parent of a 4th grader in a Department of Defense Dependents School
Math teacher, LAUSD
Writer on educational issues
Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Computer Science
California State University, Los Angeles
Professor of Mathematics
California State University, Northridge
Taxpayers for Educational Accountability
Katy, Texas
Former member, Hillsborough Township Board of Ed.
Hillsborough, New Jersey
Associate Professor
College of Business Administration & Economics
California State University, Northridge
Former Member, Katy ISD School Board
Katy, TX
Associate Professor
Molecular Biology and Virology Laboratory, The Salk Institute
Member, California Mathematics Program Advisory Committee
Co-Founder of Mathematically Correct
Fresno, California
Parents Involved in Education - Fresno
American Phytopatholical Society
Founders of Advocates for Curriculum Excellence (ACE)
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Concerned Parent
Petaluma, California
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Parents
Middle School Principal, Sewickley Academy
Systems Modeling
Santa Barbara
Parent/Writer/Editor
Petaluma, California
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
Members of Parent Advocates for Children's Education (PACE)
Davis, California
Santa Barbara
Administrator, High Desert Christian School
Teacher
Porterville, California
Northwestern University Ph.D. Student in Education
20-year public school teacher
Founder of Thomas Jefferson Charter School
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Southern California
Concerned Citizen
Los Angeles
Grandparent
Scottsdale, Arizona
Grandparent
Scottsdale, Arizona
Grandparent
USC Paleomagnetism Lab
Lecturer, CSUDH, Earth Science and Mathematics
Award Winning Chemistry Teacher
Torrance High School
Novato, California
Education Research Network
Novato, California
President, Eastern Electron Spectroscopy Society
Mathematics Teacher
The Sewickley Academy Middle School
Association for Quality Education
San Diego, California
Parent Advocates of Children's Education (PACE)
Davis, California
Teacher
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Missouri
Department of Mathematics
California State University, Long Beach
Mathematics Teacher
President, Parents for Academic Excellence
State of Oregon Helen Tome
Novato, California
Department of Mathematics
University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, Texas
Department of Chemistry, Wellesley College
Co-founder Parents Advocating Math, Westborough, MA
Independant
President, Parents Raising Educational Standards in Schools (PRESS)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
PTSA President
Glendale, Arizona
Santa Barbara
Brea Open Logical Debate (BOLD)
National Association of Realtors
California Association of Realtors
Brea Olinda Unified School District Strategic Planning Committee
Democratic Party
Grade School Parent
Lucent Technologies
Professor of Mathematics
University of California at Berkeley
Mathematics Tutor
Fullerton, California
Palo Alto, CA