We are getting our clock cleaned by the Chinese, the European Union, and even South Korea which, with one-sixth of our population, turns out as many scientists and engineers every year as we do. We can't depend upon the myth of "American exceptionality" to save our jobs, our welfare, our quality of life. We must educate our children to be creative thinkers, because creativity is the currency of the 21st century. One way is through early training in the arts because the brain patterns that are developed there will help our children be better scientists, better engineers, better citizens.
Education is not lip service. Education is money, dedication, parental involvement, and resolve that we will work harder, work smarter, and work better than our competitors so that we can preserve not just our jobs and our economy, but can leave for our children a legacy of prosperity and responsible use of our earth-limited resources.

How do we do that? One answer is for the federal government to provide block grants to the states, the only restriction being maintenance of effort by the states so that they don't simply swap federal dollars for state dollars. This would allow the states to determine what they need most:  reducing class size, or enhancing teacher education, or teacher retention strategies, or mentoring and tutoring. Education is local, but the federal government can help.

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