"You can prepare kids for Penn State or the state pen."

This from the Herald-Leader:

Silberman sounds off on education reform in D.C.

WASHINGTON — Though they spoke at separate venues across town from each other, Fayette County Schools Superintendent Stu Silberman and Arne Duncan, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for education secretary, sounded near identical points on education reform Tuesday.

Silberman, one of four finalists for the National Superintendent of the Year Award, spoke to a small gathering of reporters and education policy experts at the National Press Gallery. Duncan addressed a much larger crowd during his Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.

"We don't want to leave any child behind, but it is very rigid and inflexible," Silberman said of federal No Child Left Behind testing requirements. "I would ask the president to recognize the great work that is being done with kids."

Silberman should know.

He was selected as a national finalist from a pool of 50 state superintendents of the year from across the country. A national panel of judges will interview Silberman and the three other finalists this month to determine the winner, who will be announced Feb. 20 in San Francisco...

...Obama should engage educators in dialogues about what the new administration must do to ensure all children will learn, Silberman said.

Fellow finalist Gene White, superintendent of the Indianapolis school system, agreed.
Obama "should not believe the hype" that government has blindly thrown money at education, White said. "You can prepare kids for Penn State or the state pen."