RE: Question 2: Non-traditional education

I've held off on this one because I think my views are less representative of the working group on this topic than on others.  I side here with more experimentation and the dissemination of results to parents and teachers.  This is not as easy as it seems.  Experimentation is more than trial and error, it is the construction of reasonable hypotheses from existing research, the careful construction of trials, and independent assessments of results.  Too often in education, experimentation and advocacy are confused, and children suffer.

If citizens are to embrace the notion of progressive improvement of our schools, then we need the state's support in 

1) encouraging experimentation (laws like the Charter law that allows new approaches)
2)requiring and enabling (with $) the serious evaluation of experiments
3) establishing a clearinghouse for data about different modes and their effectiveness.
4) allow parents more ability to choose between different modes WITHIN THE PUBLIC SYSTEM (just in case you thought I was headed toward vouchers:)

Then parents and educators can make their own choices.