What To Expect From a New Year And a New Congress

By John F. Jennings

The dawning of a new year means that the world is given another opportunity to renew itself and to face old challenges with a fresh spirit of enthusiasm. But in the world of schooling a fear lingers that the new conservative political regimes chosen in the November elections may have plans to implement initiatives in 1995 which in the past have brought dread to the minds of those interested in maintaining public education as a bedrock institution in American society.

I cannot speak to all the things which the new year may bring to American education, but I can give some perspective on what may occur at the top of the political heap in Washington. And let me be quick to say that public education has the potential to be stronger at the end of the year than at the beginning, at least in terms of national support, if educators, business, and the public understand the enormous challenges to be faced and work extremely hard to find the best solutions, and do this work as far as can possibly be done with both parties, the Democrats now in the minority, and, very importantly, the Republicans who now control the levers of power in the Congress.

The Republicans' taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate is politically earth shattering because that party has not controlled both of those institutions for 40 years, and in that same period had control of one body, the Senate, for only six years. This changeover, though, has the potential to benefit both the Republican and the Democratic parties as well...