Little Rock Economic Conference

In this brief speech, Al Shanker discusses with then President-Elect Bill Clinton and Vice President-Elect Al Gore some of the challenges facing American education. He states that standards have been lowered to the point that high school diplomas are virtually meaningless. He compares the U.S. to other countries that have higher standards and also treat other problems differently. He notes that many European countries have early childhood education programs, and he advocates for a national day care program in the U.S. He also cites an article by education expert Ernie Boyer where Boyer introduced the concept of 'Educare,' arguing that government sponsored education should not end at age eighteen. Shanker also hits on restructuring education by getting away from the assembly line factory model. Clinton responds briefly, and his advisor, Leon Panetta, also comments on Shanker's talk.

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