u. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. >> tucker: education the key to success in american life, everybody knows that after decades of reforms, what have we learned? good evening i'm tucker carlson this is fox news reporting. according to the education department since 1980 we've spent more than a trillion on public schools. the u.s.doesn't make the world's top 10 for literacy in 2009 fox news dove into textbooks asking if you know what your children were reading? this time a snapshot of american education to tell you what is going on in schools. what is being tried, jammed, what the final grade is likely to be.

america's ultimate natural resource is its children. when it comes to education from the elementary level to college, this nation finds itself at a turning point. >> the president: we not the countries will out compete us tomorrow. >> we are all being intimidated, being put through hell. >> those who need this plan to remain here to be held accountable for what happens. >> i spent $130 for my french book, when i sold it back i only got $40. >> we can just pretend this is white america or hispanics don't exist. >> we have to concentrate on the students not on the bureaucracy. >> we want results! >> in the end, the full of our country depends upon

education. -- the future of our country depends upon education. >> the president: the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education. >> tucker: over the past 30 years president after president has labeled education one of the most important tools for this country's survive. billions go into improving public schools it seems like that has been for naught, why? >> i wouldn't say it has been for naught. public schools represent the community's responsibility to educate its children. what makes public education difficult in this country is we have a popular culture that is deeply anti-educational. and many parents who don't take responsibility for their children and many students who don't have motivation. >> tucker: there is motivation in the lone star state. battle ground texas round two.

in 2009 fox news reporting covered the state board's heated by the -- debate over science. >> somebody has to stand up. >> tucker: this year board members were back butting heads once again over who and what should be included in the state's social studies standard. in an explosive update we take you inside the dramatic finale >> you can put 'em where the sun doesn't shine. >> i will not be part of this. >> tucker: as one of the nation's two largest buyers of textbooks what texas decides impacts schools across the country. the three largest publishers in this 9.5 billion dollar industry, pearson, houghton, mifflin, harcourt and mcgraw-hill have once again declined our interview request. more on this later from 1985 to 2009 the student population of public, elementary and high schools rose from 39 million to 50 million.

that pool is estimated to grow another 9% by 2017. there's good news for kindergarten through 12th grade the average teacher's salary is now $51,000, overall ratio of teacher to pupils of 1-16. the bad news? >> the president: we have one of the highest high school drop-out rates of any industrialized nation. >> tucker: why after years of smart people thinking about how to keep kids in school we still have these drop-out rates? >> we've been to act to the new global market and information-based economy ii >> our drop-out rate approaches 30% nationally, we lose 1.2 million students each year to the streets. a staggering number. to me that is economically unsustainable, morally unacceptable. what chance do those young

people have to be contributing members of society? >> tucker: eight years ago george w. bush's no child left behind set out to change the landscape by warding achievement through standard based assessment. >> new role to set high standards, provide resources, hold people accountable and liberate school districts to meet the standards. >> federal legislation said what the states had to do but there was a fair amount of flexibility the states had because each of the 50 states developed their own standards. the problem was there was wide variation among the 50 states with respect to the rigor of the standards and the rigor of the assessments. the focus was on the required state tests and the results that students showed on those tests. and then sanctions could be taken in those targets had not

been reached. >> that doesn't necessarily work nor benefit in a state like alaska. we're very big on curriculum making sure kids are geared up for the resource development jobs, the good oil production jobs and commercial fishing job and mining jobs. >> standards got dummied down. >> tucker: the obama administration looked for other ways to achieve school reform. one, national state competition called race to the top. 4.35 billion dollars money from last year's economic stimulus plan is now up for grabs. >> the president: we didn't just hand this money out to states that wanted it. we challenged them to compete for it. >> they said you must remove your limits on charter

schools. and you must remove any restriction that prevents you from judging teachers by test scores. so, states are changing their laws to comply with the administration's requirements. >> alaska has chosen not to participate in president obama's race to the top. because we believe more local control of curriculum and of standards is most beneficial. we know better than bureaucrats in washington, d.c. what will benefit our students. >> tucker: the education department's website describes race to the top as an effort to reshape america's education system. >> our students today have to be lifelong learners. we have to instill a will have of learning that will go beyond even college. >> tucker: in march, tennessee and delaware were announced as the phase i winners. most states were awarded combined 600 million dollars. phase ii will go into effect later this year with the president requesting additional 1.3 billion for the

program in 2011. >> in my view it is fundamentally wrong because the department of education doing something it has never done before, to tell all 50 states to change their laws in order to be eligible for a five billion dollar prize. >> tucker: we'll look at how no child left behind has districts across the country scrambling to raise test scores. is that a good thing? here's a myth: you get nothing for driving safely. truth: at allste, you get a check in the mail twice a year, every year you don't have an accident. the safe driving bonus® check. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. experience the refreshing tfragrance of island escape...

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what we want to do is create the next generation better assessment. we go forward and look to fix no child left behind and we want to put a huge amount on the table to award those schools and districts. >> i think most americans are tired of that argument too that ited takes more money to fix the problem. >> the way no child left behind works is, every state# headaches its own tests and grades -- makes its own tests and grades them the way it wants to. there are no standards. >> depending on what is happening each day you got different degrees of movement. then the state could move in and do certain things and maybe there could be reconstitution of a school. >> idea behind testing is you need some hard her shushment of whether kids are -- some hard measurement of whether kids are progressing are not. >> what they mean is let's

punish the teachers, principals, close the school. that's a misuse of testing. >> there are pieces of legislation that didn't work. how the accountability system played out and worked against this notion of a broader curriculum, narrowing it and making the punishments for lack of success ones that could not be uniformly applied. >> tucker: in march president obama submitted a proposal to congress to overhaul no child left behind. president schools that an previous excellence or show real progress will be award. schools that are letting the students down. >> tucker: one thing that won't be changing is the practice of tenure. the ultimate job security. >> with any profession you are going to find the stinkers the lazy folks. i think we need to have more flexibility in finding those teachers another line of work. if tenure disallows that

flexibility then we a problem. >> i can say simply, good teachers don't need tenure. when i was teaching, i saw 20, 30 year teachers completely slack off and they hide behind the union. >> tucker: the country's largest teachers national education association doesn't track tenure. the second biggest union american federation of teachers last tracked in 200474% of its membership was -- was tenured. >> tenure doesn't mean you can never be fired. today tenure is like an automatic that's a challenge. teacher evaluation is fundamentally broken. >> tucker: are the unions on your side? >> absolutely. i went to the conventions, i said teacher evaluation in our

country is largely broken and got applause. >> tucker: what may not get applause is a school restructuring model called "turn around." the department of education is offering 3 1/2 billion dollars to the states to identify the bottom 5% of their schools and to fix them in one of four-ways. one, turn around that requires replacing a teaching staff with no more than 50% to be rehired this is what is occurring at fremont high in south central l.a.. >> when came to the district two years ago i identified 35 of the lowest performing schools ii -- schools. i put those schools on notice and i said, i expect improvement. >> tucker: fremont high is part of l.a. unified school

district with 670,000 students. one of those schools superintendent put on notice. >> i visited fremont, four, five times there. was never a sense of urgency that is not acceptable with me tuck if you can in december of 2009 he released a restructuring plan the first in the district's history it included turn around. needless to state teachers are not happy. >> they want everybody who works at fremont high to reapply for their job at what they are calling the new fremont. we had been assured by mr. cortinas we were on the right track none of the reforms were teacher driven or driven by the parents. >> that is not true. that's a cop-out. i gave them a year to give me a plan to show me they were working on the issues. to have some progress. and they didn't.

>> five thousand students is ridiculous as far as trying to make major improvements. >> the teachers are tired of taking the blame perhaps 3/4 of us are not reapplying for a job at fremont. >> so be it, i will staff the -- i will restaff the school. >> while teachers are being blamed for the woes of public education. here in los angeles we have never been given the ability to run school programs. >> he's using a model reconstitution that has never proven itself to be successful, anywhere. our preference would have been to call us, to sit down, discuss the issue and come up with a joint plan that made sense for fremont. >> tucker: while fremont's future remains uncertain, the stakes were high in february when the fate of 36 current

under performing and new schools was in the hands of the l.a. board of education. >> people have chosen! >> this is a by-product of school board majority that refuses to do their job sustain what is positive in public education they've decided they can't so they are going to give school as way >> tucker: recommendations were: >> give away schools to outside entities or award them to teams of teachers and parents who put together a school plan. >> tucker: after hours of deliberation a majority of the schools were taken over by outside groups. in some cases with the support of the teachers union. only four will become charter schools, the third rail of educating politics. >> i'm a big fan of charter schools, also closed three for academic failure. own the best of the best should be permitted to open a charter school.

you have to give educators real autonomy the schools should over time be phased out. >> tucker: the fact remains that more traditional public schools are failing faster than charter schools. >> i've been here for 15 years. we have a dedicated staff. it was never about money. >> it is not just about curriculum, more time, parent engagement, but all of those things. >> closing schools and making remaining schools stronger academically is unquestionably the right thing to do. >> i expect those to remain to be held accountable for what happens. >> school is under performing. perhaps you have to close that school and the kids are going to have to go somewhere else that is impossible in some of our areas in alaska, there is no other school. a provision like that in no child left behind from the feds doesn't work. >> why close the school

entirely? >> we are far too passive to let these things continue to map. year after year, 20 students if in a freshman class and you can look around and say , 15, won't graduate, how can we allow that? >> tucker: rap music in math class? that's right. history too. we'll tell you why when fox news reporting continues.

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>> tucker: if you're interested in what your kids learning you might want to know about in new approach. it is called flocabulary. creators haven't taught in the classroom they believe students can learn more with

rap music. >> i had the idea when i was in high school. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i was struck even then with how easy it was for me to remember lyrics to songs and how hard it was for me to remember things that i needed to for school. it is a program that takes the academic standard the kids are being asked to learn and incorporates those standards into original rap songs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the idea is that it is extraordinary easy to remember the lyrics to your favorite song. tuck if you can in 2005 harrison and rappaport published their first full length album, packing 500 s.a.t. vocabulary words into 12 tunes. >> we realized we could affect more change if we made products we sold directly to

the school district. now we are seeing larger adoptions. >> tucker: in over 12,000 schools across the country teachers and students are rapping, not just to english, but history, science and math. can you give me an example of a math rap. >> one times four is probably bored because one times four is four. in the second verse, the rapper pauses. ♪ ♪ >> the kids have a chance to respond to say the fact before the rapper says the answer. it is so much about the memory. we were doing a song about ancient egypt, world his, u.s. history, science concepts. that's when the writing puts more dead mans on our creativity. >> we signed a tkpwraoelt with houghton, mifflin and harcourt. >> tucker: they declined to reveal the terps of the agreement. the textbook giant had no

comment to fox news. >> if i product were bundled with textbooks would it get into every classroom. >> tucker: with a drop-out right of 5 1/2% a small rural district in north carolina spent $2,500 for language arts and history programs. >> we are starting an afterschool setting that we want to provide an alternative learning strategy to help build their vocabulary and comprehension skills. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> when i first discovered flo cabulary, i thought oh my gosh, i know they didn't go in. i thought this would get the kids attention they would like it, relatable, relevant and just what we need in order to create the kind of paradigm shift we need that will make learning fun, accessible and nonintimidating. ♪ ♪

♪ >> tucker: does it promote standard english >> we make take a few liberties where we are being humorful, people speak differently to ignore that would be a mistake. but, yes we want students to learn standard english. >> tucker: in the job world standard english is still the measurement? >> in no way are we saying everything in your life you should do by rapping. >> tucker: have you thought about the same with opera, punk or heavy metal? ♪ ♪ >> we thought about trying this all kinds of music. one of the reasons that we love rap so much for this is rap has so many words packed into one song. >> tucker: while there's no independent third party study that proves it works, many believe it does. flocabulary is used by an estimated 300,000 students. hip-hop is known for pushing the end vole of, not always in

a good way. incendiary racial rhetoric, vote garrity, sex lyrics permeate much of rap. >> we are trying to take the violence out the artists that we work with reach out to us because they realize we are trying to work with kids directly and do something that is across the board positive. >> perfect opportunity to bring it to the class. >> the artists do they have educational backgrounds? >> some do. we've worked with artists who have been tutors. >> tucker: any complaints from parents, teachers? >> i could list the complaints on one or two hands. it happens but it is very rare. >> tucker: i wonder why it takes hip-hop to get certain students engaged in learning? it never has, why does it now require that? >> i think the bigger idea is using something that students are interested in, that has a connection. hip-hop is one of those things.

stuck -- >> tucker: is technology improving or a distraction? how thousands of teachers are making a profit outside [ sniffs ] ♪ bye! bye! ♪ hi. hey! hey! [ laughter ] ♪ [ female announcer ] walk into a burst of fresh fragrance when you pass by. get motion activated glade sense and spray and release the magic. sc johnson, a family company.

fire was fire. and the first language, the language of chemistry, was universal and eloquent. and the unique ability of chemiry to change everything has never changed. it is still the hope of human history to come.

it is still the bond in partial between the elements. hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and human. . the classroom has come a long way since the chalkboard. billions are being spent on laptops to electronic boards that can cost up to $3,000.

programs where families can monitor grades and homework online. >> students can get on it too, it is called istudent. >> nothing is going to beat a teacher in the class with a student sitting at a desk. the that decisional learning environment. >> the person behind the desk a motivator, fair and square, kids are going to learn. >> tucker: 1900 miles nestled in napa county, california is new technology high. this small public school is the flagship for the new technology network. 40 schools in nine states, a group changing the way a classroom works. >> you are not seeing rows and rows of desks. and the teacher isn't the performer in the front. what they are really being is guide and coach and problem solver. the classroom should reflect the work environment.

>> tucker: project-based learn something the prefered method of teaching. students learn by working on projects by themselves, with a partner or in groups. >> they are learning real world schools -- skills that you can apply in daily life. >> doing experiments hands-on. >> tucker: some questions remain. >> the idea is the academic content will be embedded in the project. if you're not really in tune with what the you teacher hopes you are thinking about as you are doing thivity you are not going to remember. take the special type of teacher to be able to use these sorts of methods. >> tucker: the cost from $700 to $1,000 more than other schools in the district. the school has the highest standardized scores in science, english and history. all students have their own computers at school. >> because we have that the teachers are required to make a more rigorous curriculum we

have to think around things. >> tucker: how important is technology? >> technology has terrific potential. the problem is they don't magically understand how to educate themselves. >> today nobody can do their job without a computer. hotel clerk, computer. auto mechanic, computers plug into engines. it is fundamental literacy in the 21st century. >> tucker: another change? teachers turning a profit by selling their lesson plans online. one of the websites is called, weareteachers.com. >> i had a vision of what would happen if we could give the best teachers a mega phone? we are teachers -- we are teachers is designed to provide an opportunity for teachers to find the best high

quality, materials, resources, grants. >> tucker: teacherspayteachers.com created in 2006 has a quarter million registered users. >> whatever teachers create they can sell to other teachers for a modest price on average two to three dollars. teachers who are looking for fresh ideas or new approaches come to the website and purchase those materials from other teachers. >> tucker: in four years over a millions worth of lesson plans have been sold on teachers a teachers. >> i thought it of -- teachers pay teachers. >> i thought of it as an ebay of teaching. >> you have to spend a lot of time if you are going to make any money on that website that could be a lot of time away from thinking about kids who are paid to teach.

>> it increases the value of what teachers do. teachers who sell are becoming better, teachers who buy are becoming better teachers. >> tucker: who owns the rights to=/ the lesson plans? should school districts be getting a cut? >> communities, schools pay teachers. there are plenty opportunities that involve sharing their work with other teachers either face-to-face or online with no money involved. >> what teachers do on their own time, as long as the district is not paying them over time is probably fair game. >> tucker: coming up, don't mess with texas. standards debate rages in the lone star [ male announcer ] ziploc presents ziplogic. we throw out over $500 in food every year. help save more of it with ziploc freezer bags featuring the smartzip seal. edge-to-edge protection you can hear. get ziploc and get more out of it. [ female announcer ] sc johnson. a family company.

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for big accounts... or small ones. that's the way it ought to be. time for fresh thinking. time for td ameritrade. 24 one day in 2010 "-- 2009 caleb said. . >> we need you to help us memorize the declaration of independence. >> we hold these truth to the best self-evidence that all people are created equal.

>> tucker: people are created equal? the original document says men. >> any misinterpretation is induce 'tis. >> that's not right he said that's how they taught us at school. >> tucker: jason turned into his alter ego, captain watchdog. >> my activism has grown out of seeing the world through the kids eyes. you have to say this is not right. >> tucker: . and traveled to austin where the state board of education braced for final approval of its curriculum standards for social studies. >> chapter 113. >> it is time for us to wake up and what we are doing to our kids. >> tucker: joining him were hundreds of protesters, media, lawmakers, parents and a record number of concerned citizens to address the board's 15 elected member. five democrats, 10 republicans. many called on the board to delay final adoption. >> what our texas students are

taught should not be the hand maiden of our political ideologies >> people care about what their kids are taught. what we're talking is the essential knowledge of skills things that must be covered. >> tucker: the final document will serve as a blueprint and outline what every student in the lone star state is expected to learn. >> in the great state of texas. >> throughout social studies students build a foundation in history, geography, economics, government, citizenship. >> there are 4. million children that's the number that will be impacted. >> i failed! >> failed what? >> my history test.

>> is that the new book. a whole chapter on selena. where are the chapters on the alamo? >> tucker: the outcome of this showdown will be remembered and resonate throughout the nation for the next 10 years. >> no question the publishers will take what we do here and it will show up in every state. traditionally, texas and california dives the textbook market. >> it behooves publishers to pay close attention to the standards. they are out to make a profit and the state board of ed -- educations that told them what the customer wants they have to provide that product. >> tucker: lately texas' time honored ripple effect has come under scrutiny.

>> as the rise of technology and open source materials make dissemination quicker. >> tucker: it is still worth 9.5 billion dollars. texas alone 465 million this year. while the three largest publishers, pearson, houghton, mifflin, harcourt, mcgraw-hill, declined our requests. >> they listen to what we say. they come to all our meetings. >> tucker: in march fox news approached a rep from mc hill. he said he was instructed not to talk to the media. in may we returned to austin three days our cameras captured 30 hours of discussion as board members continue to grapple over a seemingly basic question what do we want the next generation of americans to learn? >> i don't think we shut be -- we should be cherry picking. >> tucker: as you are about to find out nothing simple. the original standards were written by committees that consisted of teachers and

content specialists. >> the state board appoint what they call expert reviewers. we as expert reviewers will make our recommendations and the state board of education will vote on what changes they want to make. >> in history you have different interpretations. one person's view may be a little different. >> tucker: those differences at the core of the battle. >> so many people don't know what jefferson davis did. >> confederate generals we're introducing, unacceptable. >> tucker: seven are said to be part of a conservative bloc that critics allege are imposing their critical views and religious values. >> the voting bloc very seldom breaks away from one another. you create the impression that you are more interested in having your ideas reflected than you are at looking at objective data.

>> tucker: in 2009 he, the board tackled science standards evolution bait was front and center. >> i take the bible seriously. >> tucker: all eyes on chairman of the board. >> it has been 150 years the fossil -- people keep saying that we injected creationism into the science curriculum. if anybody wants to read the standards they can see we didn't. >> my colleagues are adept at spinning and you have to read between the lines to get at the true meaning. >> tucker: he has since been ousted and recent lost the republican primary. he will serve you through january 2011, long enough to leave a lasting impression on this round. >> are there further amendments mr. allen? >> tucker: day two patience was wearing thin. the board quibbled for 10 hours. democrat lawrence allen motioned to add causes to the civil war to history standard.

>> members wanted read slavery and states' rights. >> i'd like to include sexualism. >> we don't have to beat around the bush, it is all about slavery. i support mr. allen's language. all those in favor of the word sectionalism, states rights and slavery? the amendment carry. >> tucker: tempers flared again. this time allen wanted to strike wording which would require students to study jefferson davis' ingnawing recall -- ingnawing wall address. >> slavery is not mentioned at all. >> it presents history as it happens. >> it pushes the idea that slavery was not a main issue. >> to put in on equal footing before lincoln, i do not think is correct. >> you can put the ideas contained in jefferson davis in the front. you can put it in the back. you can put him where the sun

doesn't shine. >> tucker: allen's amendment failed again. >> i know we are tired and hungry. >> tucker: hour 13. allen gives it another shot. add barack obama's name to an existing standard noting the year in with it first black president was elected. >> i would like to insert the name hussein in between barack obama. give him the honor and privilege of his full name. >> we have ronald reagan, john f. kennedy. the intent is obvious. >> you are grinning and making fun it is derogatory and bad manners. >> i'm asking to withdraw your motion. >> withdraw the motion. >> tucker: after a night of explosive debate barack h obama was added and supreme court justices sandra day o'connor and sotomayor.

there were more changes. on the third day republican dunbar kicked off the meeting in prayer. >> i believe the entire bill of rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the bible and their belief in it. >> tucker: turns out that was a direct quote from a 1954 prayer given by supreme court justice earl warren. dunbar made her point set the stage for the political discourse that has turned into a national spectacle. founding fathers, religion and separation of church and state ask >> we need to have students compare and contrast some of this current view of separation of church and state with first amendment. >> this -- this implies there is no such thing as the legal doctrine of separation of church and state. >> enlightenment ideas from john calvin and insert thomas

jefferson. >> adding jefferson back is fine. adding him enlightning ideas is not. >> we had it right the first time. >> i cannot support the league. calvin. if we could reach agreement it would be expeditious. >> tucker: thomas jefferson reinstated his name added back to a list of names on political philosophy. >> the question now is final adoption. >> these books we don't want to read these, my gosh they deal with hispanics, hispanic issues. we are beginning to sound like germany. >> considering we have put in more figures than ever before. >> i do not support this travesty. >> i'm you proud to have my name on this document. >> this belongs in the trash. >> tucker: the board passed k-12 standards along party lines with one republican absent. what happened to that $35 textbooks in odessa?

the publisher told us a new edition was released and that page was removed. >> i think it is great that our kids are learning to be pro active and to know that a publisher had to replace textbooks, because of an error that a fifth grader found. >> tucker: when we return, fox news reporting goes to college. >> this semester i probably paid $500. >> tucker: can you believe what some students are paying what some students are paying for textbooks?

. >> tucker: college! some you call it the best four years of your life. that could be less true with every passing year. the price of getting a degree skyrocketing. >> the president: we continue to expect colleges and universities to do their part to hold down tuition increases. >> the insurance companies get

better rated in front of the nation by -- and get berrated in front of the nation but no one is doing that to college presidents. >> if it is a priority for a family they are going to prepare for that high tuition cost. we made it a priority. four kids in college at once my teacher -- my dad had on a teacher's salary. i would stay home for a semester if i had to pay for my next semester's tuition. >> look what it costs now. i hear these astronomical figures, 20, 30, 40, 50,000 and up. >> tucker: more than 129 billion dollars of financial aid was available. almost 2/3 of the 19 million students in higher education received some form of that aid. with the good comes the bad. >> across the country the average student graduates with over $23,000 in debt.

>> tucker: are all of you going to be in debt when you graduate? >> yes. >> tucker: we sat down with nine fox news interns and talked about the rising costs. collectively they've spent over $700,000. >> i'm covering my last two years in student loans, $20,000 a year for each year. that's -- >> tucker: part of that debt comes from the prices of textbooks. >> the highest i spent in one mess ter was $800. >> tucker: how much did you get back? >> probably $250. >> last semester i refused to buy books i was paying close to $500 every semester. >> some of my professors will put the books on reserve at the library. >> a voided buying three. >> tucker: sometimes expensive textbooks can be wrong. last year columbia university's former pro vote

professor brinkley. the unfinished nation released in 2008 but still way off on the number of suspects charged with terror-related crimes since 9/11. >> you write only one such suspect was ever charged with a crime that's not correct. is it sir company >> tucker: at least 120 nine suspects were not only charged but convicted of federal terror-related crimes when that edition was published. we asked if he planned to correct the mistake. he responded this way. the unfinished nation will appear in a new edition later this year. you can judge for yourself at that point how it treats the issues. that new edition was released last december with a list of suspects convicted had grown to 523. the section in question in this latest investigation was now deleted. we asked the professor for an interview, he declined. we also asked why the section was omitted. his reply?

i almost always reduce coverage of recent history the length of the book must stay con -- constant and recent history is written with more detail as time goes by some of the detail seems unnecessary. what may be unsaysary -- necessary is the price you fox news bought it online for $86. the question remains is it is worth it? >> it will be worth it if i get -- when you get a job. i'm going to be working to even make the pay backs of my loan. >> if you stick your mind to it and keep winning the race it is worth it. >> last semester we had a lot of furlough days because of cutbacks. i feel like i'm not getting the time, you know learning all of what they are teaching. i kind of feel like i'm paying ñ÷l this money for nothing.

>> tucker: as you have seen american education stands at the crossroad . this country continues to lag behind much of the developed world in basic categories. countries like japan, australia, south korea, out-perform the u.s. in reading, math and science. shoddy schools, bad teachers who can't be fired and ineffective bureaucracy are to blame. another factor, every expert mentioned family. whether or not you are a parente