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Do National Standards Make Sense?

By Dan Brown

I spent my summer break wandering far, far away from my teacher desk. The farther afield I traveled, the more I questioned my beliefs about how schools should run. Two places in particular struck me: Amidon, North Dakota, and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

In a car with friends, I passed through Amidon (pop. 26) in seconds. The remote town consists of a couple of intersections on Interstate 85, cushioned by about 30 miles of hilly space to the north and south. There's one restaurant—named, I think, Creeper's— and a small town hall-like structure. I was so amazed at the town's tininess that I wrenched myself around as we passed and saw the last building in town, which looked like a one-room structure with its back exterior wall covered by a large sign reading "SCHOOL." Then the treeless expanse again took over.

What goes on in the Amidon schoolhouse? How many people work there? What are they like? What resources do they use? Is there professional development? Do the Amidon students learn the way my urban students do? Do we need national standards to unite...