¶ … obtained were numerous: first, I was made aware of the various factors that play a part in developing and implementing a curriculum and a set of standards for schools to follow. These factors include the perspectives and opinions of professional, teachers, administrators, legislators, lobbyists, communities, parents, students and business leaders. In short, there are many stakeholders in education -- many more than what one might think when picturing a normal school of just students and teachers. The reality is that virtually everyone in society is impacted by how state schools are set up. Students and families in communities are impacted; teachers are impacted; businesses are impacted (after all, they will be the ones hiring students once they grow up). So the standards that are set are very important. How to consider and develop and implement those standards is a second consideration that I was made aware of: no two students are alike and there are many ways they can be grouped. This type of assessment is difficult to make and requires several inputs as well, otherwise students might be short-changed and not be allowed to maximize their potential; or, conversely, they may not receive the special attention they need in order to execute properly. So this is a second consideration that has to be...

I feel that this is the best position for three reasons:
First, by setting standards at a local or district level as opposed to at a state or national level it allows schools to have more control over how they are achieving results and what the needs of students are. It allows them to really focus on the special needs and opportunities that may be unique to them and their own environment. The country is very diverse and there are many different regions with different populations, problems, backgrounds, economic conditions, social conditions, and skill sets. Thus, it is much better for standards to be set according to these variables than for a one-size-fits-all standard set to be given across the board by the federal government that all schools must follow. While this means that there may not be uniformity among all graduating students, it does suggest that individual schools will be better oriented to deal with issues that are singular in nature to their locale and help students achieve more in the ways that it deems important.

Second, by decentralizing, parents can have more say in what goes on in their community schools. This is…