President Obama Still Places Far Too Much

East St. Louis-which The Local Press Refers To As "an Inner City Without An Outer City"-has Some Of The Sickest Children In America. Of 66 Cities In Illinois, East St. Louis Ranks First In Fetal Death, First In Premature Birth, And Third In Infant Health.

When I Was Teaching In The 1960s In Boston, There Was A Great Deal Of Hope In The Air. Martin Luther King Jr. Was Alive, Malcolm X Was Alive; Great, Great Leaders Were Emerging From The Southern Freedom Movement.

At That Time, I Had Recently Finished A Book Called Amazing Grace, Which Many People Tell Me Is A Very Painful Book To Read. Well, If It Was Painful To Read, It Was Also Painful To Write. I Had Pains In My Chest For Two Years While I Was Writing That Book.

Now, I Don't Expect What I Write To Change Things. I Think I Write Now Simply As A Witness. This Is How It Is. This Is What We Have Done. This Is What We Have Permitted.

By Far The Most Important Factor In The Success Or Failure Of Any School, Far More Important Than Tests Or Standards Or Business-model Methods Of Accountability, Is Simply Attracting The Best-educated, Most Exciting Young People Into Urban Schools And Keeping Them There.