I Think Mr Hewitt is Wrong on this

Now I've posted a few essays on education. My formal education is complete, but I haven't stopped trying to learn. I have two daughters in public (and formerly private) schools. That makes me an expert on education, right? This morning, we find:

HughHewitt.com: "But even so, why not reward students for taking hard courses? If you don't, they won't. They are rational beings.

Well back in the hoary days just after when dinosaurs roamed the earth, err (ahem!) ... when I was in High School they didn't have grade "promotion" for AP or advance courses. But we students have figured out that (a) schools notice what courses you take, (b) if you weren't challenged you don't learn, and (c) learning took precedence over grades. I maintain that college selection committees look a little closer at a students GPA than just the numbers.

I've said before, I don't think curriculum matters and that testing should test ability to learn, not what has been already learned. Metrics and "No Child Left Behind" should be established to measure how we are improving a child's ability to learn in the pre-college years. This means a re-structuring and a re-thinking of our current educational process, but consider if we think the current system is doing swimmingly? Well, why the heck are we tinkering with the current system then? Let's all start flogging "my plans" to fix education.