The Sputnik Factor

By Louis V. Gerstner

The irony of the situation is big enough to trip over--and unless America wakes up soon, we surely will.

On the one hand, the Council on Competitiveness says in its latest report that business, labor, and university leaders agree the crisis in K-12 education is the biggest challenge facing our nation. And, if we don't fix it, we won't be a successful country in the 21st century.

On the other hand, just as we reach this broad consensus on the need for dramatic reform, we learn the people who should be most alarmed, most ready to act--the parents of our children--apparently don't want...