European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 07, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes columns James Kilpatrick Senneff colled it right on Summit on education Billy Bennett was a bad bad boy. He went to the president s Summit on education and there he committed truth. For that they washed his Mouth out with soap. This is what Bennett said of the closed meeting or governors and Federal officials there was the Standard democratic Pap and Republican Pap. And something that rhymes with Pap. Much of the discussion proceeded in a total absence of knowledge of what takes place in the Well John Sununu the president s chief of staff called Bennett into the principal s office. Thanks for your comments said Sununu. They weren t All Contrare As we French say. Bennett s re freshing Candor May have been the most helpful thing that emerged from the Charlottes Villa charade. Not until the nation faces up squarely to the problems of Public education not until we begin to take those problems seriously will we make the changes that arc so desperately needed. Bill Bennett knows what he is talking about. As Secre tary of education under former president Reagan he saw enough conferences to become an expert on the subject. They Are All the same. Certified experts deliver papers to other certified experts panellists talk to rapporteur works up a summary of discussion Points. Everybody files an expense account and the participants go Home with full tummies and bulging briefcases. Noth ing of substance has been accomplished. So it was at the Summit stupid word at Charlottesville. The distinguished participants reviewed the same statistics and heard the same warnings they have been hearing for years. With some notable exceptions our Public schools arc not producing High school graduates who arc intellectually equipped for the next Cen Tury. Having rehashed the hash the conferees did what they always do they appointed a study commission. What a bold idea the commission is to make recommendations for National goals and National standards. This is an astound ing thought. We will be told that the dropout rate must be improved from x to y. There must be greater emphasis on science mathematics geography and languages. In the elementary schools Reading must be More effectively taught. The number of functional illiterates those adults who cannot make change from a $20 Bill or read the warnings on a bottle of pills must be steadily reduced. And so on. Pap Pap and rhymes with Pap everyone who has not lived in a Cave for the past 40 years knows these objectives. State governors and state legislators in who the prime responsibility rests know full Well what needs to be done. They arc capable of defining goals and fixing standards. Over the past six years to their great credit William Safire the education sum it \ of to president reap my up no a Touk x & 17o,oco,, deficit drugs v i hype we re not going to Quirt up tit nah j Fluke of i school levies ineffective education Secretary Ujj several states have made notable strides. But the Art of political leadership is to find out where the people want to go and then to gel out in front of them. The people by and Large have yet to get passionately involved in the improvement of our schools. That is what is so discouraging. The persons who Are most concerned with education Are divided into two groups. In one group is the educational establishment the teachers principals administrators textbook pub Lishers and the two great labor unions. The other is com posed of the relatively Young parents whose children arc in the elementary and secondary schools. Their interests Are not necessarily compatible. The establishment is full time the parents arc part time. Most of the political clout lies with the teachers. Quite understandably they want More Money More academic authority and less outside regulation. Many parents re Gard the schools primarily As baby Sitters. Relatively few Nave the time or the inclination to become actively involved. So we Drift. Beyond those groups one finds a number of employers who arc intensely dissatisfied with the youngsters who come seeking jobs. It May be that the Best Hope for Reform lies with the business and Industrial Community. If Chambers of Commerce across the nation would throw their political and financial Power into this situation we might begin to get somewhere. George Bush has said repeatedly that he wants to be the education president. Splendid but the role of the Federal government is limited by both budget constraints and Long established tradition. Summits and study com missions and task forces will generate Little More than the same old Pap. We Don t Lack goals. We Lack the will to pursue them. C us Vestal puss Syndicate . Supports Baltic states bid for Freedom Riga soviet occupied Latvia this weekend inc Congress of the latvian popu Lar front will meet to assert its intent to bring about a fully Independent nation. No More veiled talk about economic sovereignty or confederation with the so Viet Union the magic word is Independence the state of nationhood stolen from the latvians so years ago in a pact Between Stalin and Hitler. Rive weeks ago Moscow s Central com Mittee issued an ominous warning to the Baltic Stales to Stop All talk of separation lest their viability be destroyed. The latvian popular front interpreted this As a readiness of inc soviet govern ment to resort to Force and even to Geno the latvians called for the protective publicity of United nations concern but Secretary general Javier Perez de Cullar in Craven and unprincipled league of nations tradition ignored the plea. The soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze followed up in a blast at re wanchism meaning a Call for a return of territory taken by Hie soviet intimidation has served to unify the bickering Baltic factions and steel their resolve. Most latvian Leader profess no fear of the likelihood of soviet tanks in their streets moreover they claim to hear mixed signals. Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev meeting with Bailie representatives soon after the Central committee warning is reported to have assured them privately that it might be interesting to see if Independence could serve As a Model for soviet per Stroika. Such talk May be whistling in the dark but evidence exists that a soviet hard line is far from unanimous. In Leningrad a few Days ago Alf Scandr Fursenko vice chairman of the Academy of sciences and an outspoken Gorbach Vic at first told me that Independence is not on the Agenda but added if the Baltic states decide for political Independence they have earned that at least some soviet reformers would rather have a string of Small allies similar to Finland acting As a Bridge to the West than face the need to repress sullenly Resis Tant provinces. But even granting that the Baltic arc a special Case Long recognized by the West As captive nations won t this agita Tion for separation weaken Gorbachev and undermine his reforms i put this squarely to Dainis Ivans chairman of the popular front and an elected latvian Deputy in the supreme so Viet. Won t the Independence of the bal tics fan nationalist sentiment within the original dozen soviet republics and Lead to a crisis in the Ukraine i asked. The 34-year-old editor a soft spoken Man with a Good Chance of being inc next president of a free Latvia replied matter of Farlly the Ukraine will no matter what happens in the if his movement wins in National elections next Spring Ivans sees real if not formal Independence in the dallies within five years achieved through parliamentarian Means. Nothing inflammatory or provocative about that. What about the recent Central committee warning from Moscow there was panic in Moscow because the move ment Here is so peaceful and what if hard liners in the Kremlin insist that Gorbachev put on an economic squeeze we have More free Farmers than exist in All Russia says the latvian Leader and wept bread on russian tables. All their elec tric trains and wagons Are produced in they Boycott us we will manage somehow but they would Hurt themselves. Gorbachev knows that in a super controlled state if you lose one economic part you could cause a the people of the Baltic arc reach ing for inc brass ring of Freedom at their own gathering Speed and in their own know they can expect no military help from the West if soviet tanks Roll but they count on the . To make Clear to Moscow the economic and political consequences to the soviet Union if Force is a s what us hate told the balls we Are american Diplomat called in Baltic supporters in Washington last week to Tell them this we have made it Clear that if the soviets crack Down i will be an end to everything including arms talks and Trade Diplomat added that the soviets understand this at the highest this critical moment with the lives of thousands and the Freedom of millions at stake it is vital that the United states not Waffle or mislead or treat Baltic Freedom As a soviet internal affair. We support Baltic Independence we applaud the present peaceful approach and we would consider any coercion by mos cow of these illegally subjugated people to be tantamount to a soviet declaration of cold War i. C new York flows
