Education is probably one of the most complex social topics the world continues facing. Speaking only from having an American education experience (public scho

Education is probably one of the most complex social topics the world continues facing. Speaking only from having an American education experience (public schools, public college and public grad school), there seems to be a central underlying issue which the author highlighted. The central debate is the extent of teacher discretion we should allow in the class. The battle is between two sides, one who believes teachers should just go in the classroom and teach what they think is best for the students, and the other side who believes teachers should follow a regimented curriculum to make sure students learn what they need to. In a perfect world, where every teacher was amazing at helping students learn, the first option would be best. In the real world, teachers come in a variety of skill levels and we need some type of testing to make sure students are working hard and teachers are providing value. Currently we (the US) solve this balance by allowing teachers to teach how they want but also testing kids every year in a standardized way. This is exactly how the AP test works and provides an important metric to understand how well students actually did. It is certainly not perfect, but is the best balance we can come up with at this point. My guess is that places like Khan Academy will serve as additional help as time goes on to increase student learning, and may even provide the opportunity for teachers to have more discretion in class while students learn more out of class. As far as the rest of the arguments the author makes, it is clear the author did not teach in an average public college. AP classes were far more challenging in high school than anything my undergrad offered and many times better taught. My one regret was not filling my schedule with more AP classes.