I wrote this originally in 1998, with Al Gore as the future President, and 2004 as the date of the uplink imagined here.  Now I've changed the names to match our current history, and it still makes sense, aty least to me.  We need to get "knowledge" out of the brick-and-mortar trap and more and more, onto the internet.  A dedicated satellite would be an ideal way to manage the system, and still provide educational tools to anyone who might want to tune in, from the comfort of their home theater.  Or their bedroom. 

Knowledge can "happen" anywhere it is given a chance to blossom.

 

"K-12" HEADLINES FROM THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION;

by John Patterson

circa 2010, JULY 4 WEEKEND, FROM HUTCHINSON, KS

During a gala V.I.P. celebration at the first graduation ceremonies of

NASA University in Hutchinson, Kansas, President Obama dedicated the official

uplink of the Franklin Digital Public Education signal to the newly named

Christa McCauliffe Satellite School, in synchronous orbit directly overhead.

The signal was immediately broadcast back to more than two thousand public and

countless private receiving dishes in schools and homes across the nation.

In a ceremony that initiated the highly popular, but politically

controversial National Digital Satellite School, dubbed "K-12" by its

originators, Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of mixed educational,

aeronautical, political and corporate icons, along with the first graduating

class and most of the underclassmen of the new NASA University in Hutchinson.

The president drew a standing ovation when he referred to NASA's

turn-of-the-millennium conversion from a "cold-war military laboratory..., into

a comprehensive, world-class educational institution."

"We stand on the threshold of a greater age." Obama began, "Now, more than

ever in our nation's history, we hold a key to democracy that our founders

could only dream of at our nation's inception. Thomas Jefferson and Ben

Franklin both recognized the essential value of public education, to provide

our citizens their most important tool for an effective democracy ...

Knowledge.

Throughout our nation's colonial and democratic history, educators have

sought to offer students access to this knowledge, in its most efficient and

fluent form. In our nation's infancy, this endeavor became manifest in a

thousand bell-towered buildings, each holding a single class of children of

all ages. Not only were they able to effectively learn in this pioneer

environment, they also had a chance to teach what they learned to younger

classmates. Surely, our nation's greatness was born in that one-room

schoolhouse. The first seeds of our democracy were sown and nurtured there.

But time can change even our most cherished institutions. As it crossed

the centuries, that one-room schoolhouse was transformed into a costly,

fragmented mosaic of inefficiency, plagued with bureaucratic excess and

crumbling superstructure. Diffused even more by the lack of national

standards, the house of American education was divided against itself. It

could not stand. Compared to their Asian and European counterparts, American

students toppled from their lofty perch of excellence into the obscurity of

entrenched, self-perpetuating mediocrity.

In a single generation, this lack of vigilance and diligence towards our

educational system put our nation at risk. The evidence was clear. The

statistics coldly implied that we had a very serious problem. But recognizing

a problem is only the beginning. Through ten more years of conservative

agendas and taxpayer revolts, these problems languished and became entrenched.

By the time we developed our "Goals 2000" education-standards program under

the first Clinton administration, a decade of mismanagement and neglect had

set our educational progress back immeasurably.

We were seeking guidance in formulating a national testing program and a

standard curriculum. We looked for school systems and particular teachers who

consistently produced improvements in their students. As we compared their

success formulas, some very striking similarities were evident. In most cases,

these teachers prepared a separate computer study course for their top

students, to free more of their teaching time for students who needed personal

help. Many of these exemplary teachers grew up with the advent of the computer

generation, and their students were even more experienced with computers. Their comprehensive study programs used videos, compact and lazer discs and other front-line technology to provide more intensive learning than ever before.

Clearly, the advent of multimedia computers had opened a new window of

educational opportunity. We proceeded to embrace and develop this new medium,

adding daily to the available reference resources for teachers to provide to

their students. The learning capacity of our nation's youth had never been

better fulfilled. Their self-dependence was challenged and increased.

In its first form, this became the "Education Online" program that began

in l998, and resulted in the creation of our Franklin Education Database

Centers. But after the internet crash of y2k left so many Franklin branches

with a blank screen, we decided to look for another, more reliable delivery

system for the Franklin signal.

At the end of the Iraqi war, we were watching our space program end an era as a

space-hardware delivery contractor. And after the shuttle disaster of 2003, we were compelled

to look for new directions for NASA, to bring the public back in with confidence and enthusiasm.

Like most of history's great success stories, what began as a small seed of

reasoning, became a tree much greater than its planters could have ever hoped.. Once the program was begun, the clear sensibility of its simple plan inspired a whole new generation of future astronaut/teachers, and captured the imagination of the entire, war-weary nation.

Never in the history of war and peace has such a great endeavor been accomplished so successfully, in such a short period of time. Just two years ago, as I began my first term in office, I would never have imagined that, in my lifetime, I could push a button that would deliver an

entire pre-school through 12th grade education to any digital receiving dish

in the continental United States. And who could have ever dreamed that NASA

might change from a cold-war military laboratory, and satellite delivery and

maintenance service, into a comprehensive, world-class educational

institution. Yet today, thanks to a nation of creative and courageous

citizens, we take this giant leap forward for mankind.

These graduates who sit before you are the first-fruits of our new Nasa

University. Following their year on the space station, they will go out across

our nation to help local school systems establish their own digital programs.

As they identify those students who will best adapt to and excel with the

Franklin System, the nation's crowded classes will grow smaller, along with

the local tax burdens. Our goal is to provide all our teachers with smaller

classes and better resources, but at a fraction of traditional costs.

Our founding fathers could hardly have foreseen the incredible technology

we know today. But if all of history's clues are correct, I feel certain they

would have been part of K-12, and by reason of their deep-buried roots in the

living history of American education, they stand with us here, today, as we

dedicate the one-room schoolhouse of the future.

Above all, the decision honor Christa McCauliff as we name our National

Eduaction Satellite puts a spirit of reborn fulfillemnt into our endeavors.

More than anyone in history, she gave her life for education, as she reached

into the heavens to teach to her students. We can not deny, or ever delete

that tragic day. But in our act today, we restore Christa's name for all

students to remember not in tragedy, but in victory. Broadcasting through

this satellite named for her, we offer children throughout our nation a

quality education, free of charge, and available to any home or school system

in the country. By providing this standard of curriculum and testing, we free

our best teachers to help the students who need close personal instruction.

And the testing standards that accompany the K-12 programming will help our

educators recognize and remedy problems before they become entrenched.

Christa McCauliff's namesake will now shine brightly from the heavens, a

tiny hand-made star beaming more truth and understanding than any

constellation could ever pretended. The mightiest light in the depth of space

will never shine so brightly. I hereby christen the Christa McCauliff

National Digital Satellite School."