In 1983, an 18-person commission formed by the Reagan administration came out with a scathing report on the American public education system. “A Nation at Risk,” as it was called, was chockfull of strong language and disturbing findings on the state of the American public education, calling it “eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity.”

Twenty years later, President George W. Bush vows “to leave no child behind” but constant cuts in education funding are leaving public schools with fewer supplies, larger class sizes, and lower salaries for its teachers.

Click the “Listen” link to hear about the lessons, if any, that were learned from the “A Nation at Risk” report, and whether the current state of public education in America is better or worse than it was 20 years ago.

Guests:

Gerald Holton, Professor of Physics and Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University who was on the 18-person task force that produced the “A Nation At Risk” report

Ted Sizer, Founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools and Former Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and high school headmaster

Jonathan Kozol, writer, advocate, and author of “Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools” and many other books on children and education

Kay North, 38 year veteran elementary school teacher who currently teaches 6th grade at the Fellows Elementary School in Ames, Iowa.