ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the significant implications for educational policy embedded in the story of the Network Faculty Development Committee (NFDC), particularly with regard to school reform. The current debates are especially heated over school vouchers, funding, and accountability, opinions do seem to converge on two fronts. First, policy makers and the public agree that contemporary schools are not sufficiently preparing students to make a place for themselves in our rapidly changing, highly technological, and democratic society. Second, children's experiences in schools are not likely to change without the enthusiastic participation of the nation's teachers. School reformers argue convincingly that schools will only improve if they are held to higher standards. Good teaching, in the spirit of scientific management, requires the faithful adoption of methods aimed at helping students to commit manageable bits of information and knowledge to memory.
