Highlighting the changes in America's schools since the Sept. 11 attacks, Education Secretary Roderick Paige spoke at the University yesterday at the last leg of the Six-Nation Education Research Project, which started in 1993.
He addressed a crowded room of more than 100 Penn faculty and students, as well as foreign dignitaries and education specialists.
The Six-Nation Research Project is the result of collaboration among researchers from the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Singapore. According to Graduate School of Education Dean Susan Fuhrman, chairwoman of the Six-Nation Steering Committee, the project is "an international initiative to conduct comparative research in education."
Paige said education has become a national security issue.
"On Monday, I welcomed Tom Ridge," said Paige, referring to the former Pennsylvania governor who was recently appointed to head the new Office of Homeland Security by President Bush. "He said to me, `If you want to fight terrorism, then create educated citizens.'"
In addition to discussing his educational agenda, Paige spoke about the Department of Education's role in light of the recent events.
Sept. 11 "has not made our focus less important," Paige said. "We think it has actually made it more important."
Thus far, the Department of Education has taken an active role in fostering counseling and support services in the nation's schools. Paige said he views this as an essential step.
"We need to provide resources," Paige added. "We'll rebuild the buildings, the brick and the mortar, but how young people relate to this is most important."
In keeping with the country's return to normalcy, Paige switched the focus to other matters at hand, lauding the efforts of the Six-Nation Committee for its research on global education systems.
"I know how valuable it is to figure out what works and what doesn't," Paige said. The findings of the project "suggest to us the value of setting clear standards."
According to Paige, the findings support the president's "No Child Left Behind" educational program -- which includes increasing accountability for student performance and funding, reducing bureaucracy and empowering parents.
President Bush has called this plan the "cornerstone" of his administration, adding that the reforms express his faith in public education.
"My goal is to improve the child," said Paige. "My interest is in the child, not the system. I will try anything to improve the performance of the students."
He emphasized that "setting appropriate high standards is an important step."
Students in the audience had mixed opinions on Paige's speech.
"I thought it was nothing surprising, pretty much the party line" said Lauren Scher, a Graduate School of Education student.
However, she added that Paige came across as intelligent.
"He tried to answer honestly, though it was difficult, especially the issue of the September 11 events."
The conference, sponsored by Morgan Stanley and hosted by Penn's Graduate School of Education, was held at the Inn at Penn.
