Do you really expect the president to do your job?

"What can we expect from President-elect Obama? Will he bring about positive change? How will his administration impact education for all children? We all have these kinds of questions, and many of us have high expectations for the answers. But perhaps we should be asking ourselves what we are prepared to do to bring about the change we're awaiting. "

An email from ASCD - a leading national education association - opens with the very typical comments looking to our new president to be the solution to failing schools. There is a tendency to look to someone else, anyone else, for help improving our schools. Does it really make sense for someone so far removed from our schools to understand the needs of our children?

The ASCD author goes on to say that the real question should be "what we are prepared to do." Changing our schools in our city is our job. President Obama is a politician, not a teacher. Let's keep the roles and expectations clear and dedicate ourselves to the task of doing whatever it takes to make the difference that we need in our own urban schools.