Author's+Ideas+are+Important

**Ideas of William J. Bennett that are Important to Education **
 * **There are influences outside of school that impact education, such as family values which are intrinsic to to developing children who are excited to learn**
 * **Character education is essential for providing positive and productive learning environments**
 * **A strong curriculum forms the foundation of further study and habits of mind**
 * **Dr. Bennett's Stance on Various Issues **

Factors Outside of School
There are many factors outside of the school that have always influenced education and continue to do so. However, some of these outside influences have changed and in my opinion, have had an impact on learning in the United States and around the world. First, the evolution of technology has changed the the way information is obtained, delivered and used by students, teachers, and parents. In addition, there have been major global influences including an increasing global population up from about two billion in 1930 to almost seven billion today ([|Kunzig 1]). According to the US Census Bureau, the population of the United states in 2010 was almost 309 million people, up from about 203 million people in 1970.

media type="custom" key="10864724" align="center"

The impact of both the technology and population increase has had a tremendous influence on the demands of the global workplace for skills that did not even exist a few years ago. Additionally, I doubt many would disagree that an increasing population impacts on society and ultimately education. Finally, but by no means the last example of an impact to education, is that family dynamics across the country have changed.

It is this last example, family dynamics, that //The Educated Child// builds from. This book provides much support for the belief that parents must be involved in the education of their children, especially in the early years of development. "The purpose of this book is to help you secure a good education for your child from early childhood through the eighth grade" (Bennett, Finn, & Cribb 6). Bennett, Finn, and Cribb point out that parents are children's first and most important teachers (7). They identify three critical elements that influence the education of a child as being a parent's love, a parent's attitude about education, and instilling the highest ideals (8). Each of these elements, for the most part, can only be provided by parents. However, educators can participate in helping parents understand the value of their involvement. If these elements are critical to a child's learning process, than the ideas presented in this book are valuable to parents, teachers, andadministrators the same.

Character Education
Throughout //The Educated Child,// Bennett, Finn and Crib discuss the details of character education and a solid core curriculum and draw a support for their importance to a good education. Most educators would probably agree that character education is intrinsic to creating a positive learning environment. However, according to Bennett, Finn, and Cribb; the idea that schools should teach virtue broke down as the twentieth century progressed. "In the 1960s and 1970s, most American schools staged a full fledged retreat from character education" (Bennett, Finn & Cribb 523). The signs of a society failing to provide for the moral development of its young include cheating, acceptance of foul language, tragic levels of drug and alcohol use, heartbreaking numbers of teenage pregnancies and abortions, and administrators (and I would add teachers) who are afraid to take a strong moral stand for fear of being sued (524).

**Strong Curriculua**
Most educators, administrators, and parents would probably agree that a strong curriculua is essential to education. However, it is the definition of a strong curricula that most are unable to agree upon. See the discussion regarding content on the Philosophic Page of this wiki to learn more about Dr. Bennett's ideas of what a strong curricula would contain.