Matthew and Milton,
Yes, and I would add that perhaps the crucible and the grassroots have grown too big. I would really like to see a school, my school, get back to being a local creation, not a national one. I think a national debate may just be too big. In fact I think even a state or county might be too large a pool of stakeholders to call on. Now with revised state standards and more federal involvelment in schools it does not seem likely we will be moving in the direction of forming schools that are truly local creations.