Arthur Levine, former president of Teachers College at Columbia University made some claims about the schools of education that caused an uproar from peers and other educational institutions.

True some of the reports more ambitious suggestions, like five-year undergraduate programs, are unrealistic in a nation where teaching remains one of the lower-paid professions. But others, such as developing common standards and measuring schools by student success, make too much sense to ignore.

For change to happen, calls for reform must come from beyond academics. Levine has offered a clear diagnosis and valuable prescriptions for treatment. Now citizens must understand that just as a misplaced scalpel devastates the body, continued classroom failures cripple mind and soul.

Published Thursday, Sep. 21, 2006