1) Tell us a bit about your background. I understand that you did not take a traditional route to become the top educator in Michigan and please tell us what you are up to currently.

I am the President and CEO of TDW and Associates, a global education and business consulting firm.

I have a diverse and eclectic background. I have served as Michigan's State Superintendent of Schools; the State Director of Michigan's Mental Health Department; and President and CEO of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, Florida. I also was involved in creating and opening the first charter school in two states; developed and implemented a shelter for runaway youth; worked as a mental health therapist; and was a management consultant with a major CPA Firm. I have also run statewide political campaigns and served as an elected official.

Recently, I have been working with educators in the US and China, attempting to build bridges that will connect our schools and students. China has the fastest growing economy in the world, most likely to surpass the US economy by the middle of this century. However, study after study shows that US students have little knowledge of Chinese language, history and culture. This is particularly of concern when considering recent statistics that indicate Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world and the most widely used language on the Internet.

I have had an interest in China since the mid-sixties when a great teacher opened my eyes to the country and its people. I have traveled there many times since my first trip in 1989. One of the most profound experiences in my life was standing among hundreds of thousands of student protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China in mid-May 1989. I trolled the crowed of young Chinese students, searching for someone who spoke English. A small crowd quickly engulfed me and a hush fell over the huddle surrounding me. The silence was initially pierced with a volley of questions, when a penetrating question was blurted out, "Describe democracy - describe freedom?"

Attempting to explain what democracy and freedom means when it is often taken for granted was like trying to explain how you begin to breathe when you awake in the morning. A few days later, the Chinese government answered the question with tanks and guns.

I have written quite a bit about China and why it is important to be engaged with them both economically and educationally. Some of my articles can be found at chinamaze.com.

2) Tell our readers what you think are the skills, background and experience needed to be a superintendent today.

Today a successful superintendent has to wear multiple hats: leader, communicator, financial whiz, curriculum director, public relation/marketing czar and have the ability to keep multiple people happy while making tough choices and decisions and oh, yeah, educating children. I believe very strongly that there are many paths one can take to serve successfully in a superintendency or in any leadership role. Clearly, the traditional path in the past has been to serve in the following capacities: teacher, vice-principal, principal, coach, administrator, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

In today's fast-paced, technologically driven and global world, to think that only one pathway leads to a great superintendent is silly. Greatness and leadership emerge from multiple paths. We need to look for people to lead our schools from a variety of backgrounds. Of course educators can be, have been, and are great superintendents. But outstanding educational leaders can also come from human services, military, business and the nonprofit communities.

A great superintendent must first and foremost like kids and respect teachers. The person has to truly be willing to walk on hot coals to make a difference in the lives of kids. If you don't love kids and learning, your constituents - the parents, teachers and, most importantly, the students - will see right through you.

Today, I am sorry to say, too much time is spent taking care of the adults in the system and not focusing on the core mission of a school - teaching and learning. The superintendent needs to have an internal measuring stick that reads, "Show me how this helps our teachers teach and our children learn?" Every decision the superintendent makes must be held up to that question. If the local superintendent is spending the majority of his/her time on power, control, politics and adults and NOT teaching, learning and children, then it is time to look for a new occupation.

3) Talk a little more about why you are so engaged with China and sounding the alarm about the lack of knowledge our children have about Asia in general and China specifically.

The 21st century is the dawn of the Chinese century. In 2001 the National Commission on Asia and the Schools released an alarming report that said our nation's students are "dangerously uninformed about international matters," a fact that is particularly glaring in the case of Asia, which is home to more than 60 percent of the world's population.

Consider:

    * China's economy has annually grown by double digits for nearly the past 20 years;

    * China has 1.3 billion people clamoring to acquire a "piece of the American pie;"

    * It is reported that China has more speakers of English as a second language than America has native English speakers;

    * China has 320 million people under the age of 14, more than the entire population of America;

    * It is reported that more than 300 million Chinese have risen from poverty in the last quarter of a century;

    * Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world; few people in the US can speak it and even fewer are learning it;

    * China is an immense market for American goods and services;

    * In recent years, (2001-2004), China has accounted for one-third of global economic growth.

It is critical that our children learn more about the Chinese people. Edwin Reischauer perhaps said it best when he wrote in the forward of John King Fairbanks' book, The United States and China, "The relations between the two great nations, their understanding or misconceptions about each other, their cooperation or friction will play a large part in determining the future of humanity."

Truly, the 21st century belongs to the globally connected. Every school district in America has to ask, "Are we plugged in?"

It is absolutely critical - for our children, our communities and our country - that we be ready and able to cooperate and compete with the Chinese as this century unfolds. Every school district must remember that their children are not simply competing against the students in the district or state next door - they are competing against the children of the world. Are we ready?

4) You served as state superintendent during the passage of the No Child Left Behind Law. Michigan was viewed as a progressive state and sought to find ways to make this law work for its children while working to make changes in the law that you did not believe made sense. Tell our readers about this experience.

I believe in the moral imperative of the No Child Left Behind Law. I ask, whose child is it okay to leave behind - yours? Certainly I do not want my children left behind.

I have appreciated the adherence to the principles of the law by Secretary Spellings while providing sensible flexibility to the states in the implementations.

While serving as the State Superintendent in Michigan (2001-2005), the State Board stood up to the US Department of Education when they said it did not make sense to test immigrants, many who had recently arrived from war-torn countries where the children were not even enrolled in school for years, in English.

The US Department of Education came down hard on us, threatening to take away a million dollars of funding if the state did not comply. I was quoted in a New York Times article, later picked up in Molly Ivins' book, Bushwhacked, asking, "Is it educationally sound to give a math test and say the students don't know math when they can't read the problems?" I asked the feds to "come to the Heartland and listen." I went on to say that the US Department of Education "must do away with the bad and ugly parts of the law or it would turn into a vehicle to inappropriately bash our teachers and our kids." Well, you can imagine how thrilled the Bush administration was with me.

Later, to the credit of the Administration and Secretary Spelling, with lots of pushing by educators across the country, sensible changes were made.

My standard for accountability and accreditation is simple. "Is it good enough for my children?" If the answer is no, then it should not be good enough for anyone's child. Clearly, we had schools in our state that were and are leaving children behind. We have schools that have been hiding behind "average" for years. If one child cannot do math, read or think critically in this 21st century, global, and knowledge economy, then we are failing as a state and nation.

Is the law demanding? Absolutely. Are there flaws in the law? Clearly. Is there a need for additional resources from both the state and the federal government to meet the expectations? Unequivocally yes. And it is hoped that the new Congress will work to address these issues this year while the law is being reauthorized.

5) You have been a strong advocate for lifting Michigan's law that like many states allows kids to legally drop out of school at 16-- why?

Times have changed in Michigan and America. There was a time in Michigan and America where one could drop out of school and get a good-paying, middle class job, join the military or work on the family farm. Those days are gone and are not coming back. Auto plants in Michigan are shedding jobs faster than most of us wish we could drop a few pounds. The armed services do not accept dropouts and I doubt the urban youth of Detroit are leaving school to help mom and dad on the family farm.

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We have moved from a society where you once could lift for a living to one where all our children must be able to think for a living.

Given today's fast-paced global economy, to allow a child to leave school without the education they need and deserve is state-sponsored stupidity at best and institutional racism at its very worst. If we had the same horrific dropout statistics in our white, middle class suburbs as we do in the Native American, Hispanic or African American communities, people would be marching on the capitol demanding that we fix the problem. If the dropout problem was classified as a public health issue, it would be considered an epidemic in this country.

We need to raise the dropout age and do it now. However, it is more than just simply changing the legal age at which one can drop out. As responsible adults we must develop alternative programs to meet the needs of these young adults who want to leave school.

I ask, is it OK for your son or daughter to leave school without, at a minimum, a high school diploma? If it is not good enough for your child, it should not be good enough for any child. Our children will live in a rapidly changing, disruptive, informational, and technologically driven world that will defy predictability. It is our collective responsibility to make sure all of them are ready.

6) You wrote a report on our schools using technology and e-learning to adapt to the rapid changes taking place today. What is the name of the report and where can our readers find a copy?

The report is titled "The New Education (R)evolution." It asks the reader to imagine new possibilities for teaching and learning. I recently presented the ideas in the report to educators in China. In fact, it has been translated into Chinese. I would highly encourage interested individuals to download the report and read it. It is posted on the North American Council of Online Learners (NACOL) website: www.nacol.org. Susan Patrick, the Executive Director of NACOL and the former Technology Director for the US Department of Education, is doing a great job promoting new ways of learning.

I am proud to say that the State of Michigan has adopted one of the recommendations in the report and was the first state in the nation to mandate that all children take an e-learning course as part of the tougher new high school graduation requirements.

7) You have been a strong advocate that our schools must change. In fact, you have written that our schools must "change or perish." Is it really that bad?

Yes. Our public school system across the country is at a crossroads and is winding through the classic responses of denial, scape-goating and protectionism. Without vision, innovation and productive change, our public schools as we know them will sink. Our schools must adapt by seeking ways to liberate educators and learners from the industrial model of the past. This model chains student to a six hour day that is confined to a classroom or school building, when learning is available anytime and anyplace.

The expectation of students and employers is that learning will be more relevant and real. What would a 21st century educational environment look like with imagination, innovation and creativity that truly incorporates technology?

The state and nation that adapts to change and invests in its people with high quality education will be the state and nation that will rule in the 21st century. Our fear should not be the outsourcing of jobs to China and India. Our greatest fear should be that their systems of education are producing more scientists, engineers, and math and technology students than America.

Our goal as a nation should be to become the innovative, creative, knowledge brain bank of the world.

8) As Michigan's Superintendent you were known for being a passionate advocate for preschool education. In fact, you pushed this movement even when you were running a major business organization in Palm Beach County Florida. Can you explain why you were so passionate about this issue?

Investing in our youngest children is the best economic development tool we have as a state and nation. Don't take my word for it; ask a brain researcher or a Nobel prize-winning economist.

Brain research has been very clear for a number of years that nearly 85 percent of the human brain is developed in the first five years of life. This scientific fact should make every sensible person pause and ask why we wait until a child is five or six to begin the formal investment in education.

James Heckman, a Nobel prize-winning economist, predicts a grim economic future for the US unless we keep up with the rest of the world's educational surge in early childhood education. He shows in his research that children who participate in high quality preschool programs "experienced increased achievement, test scores and high school graduation, decreased grade retention, time in special education and crime and delinquency."

Having served in leadership positions in education, mental health, and business, I have always believed that expenditures in quality education from the womb to the tomb are the best investments we can make as a state and nation. Investment in human capital in these early years will pay great dividends for us all.

9) On the other end of the spectrum - you are equally as strong of an advocate for community colleges. Talk to us about your experience with community colleges.

Community colleges in Michigan and across the country are some of the best values in higher education today. I got my start at a community college (Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan) and received some of the best instruction in all my years of life long learning.

Community colleges are unsung heroes, providing a stepping stone to excellent careers, continuing education and the first boost up the post-secondary education ladder leading to greater earning power and often advanced degrees.

Community colleges provide the setting for investment in human capital and the fuel for the economic engine for states to help prepare our students to be globally competitive. If they did not exist, there would be a rush to create them.

As states prepare for the 21st century knowledge economy, where an educated workforce is vital to their very survival, our community colleges should be viewed as a linchpin in strategies to compete on the global stage.

Former President Clinton once described our community colleges as "the most open, democratic and opportunity-filled institutions in the United States today." He was right when he made this comment. The statement has only become truer with time.

My learning continues at one of our great community colleges in Michigan. I am taking a class in Mandarin Chinese at Schoolcraft Community College.

10) You wrote a book called "They Help Us Paint Rainbows." Tell our readers what inspired this book and what it is about.

Yes, I am very proud of that book.It was my small way to thank the great teachers who have touched my life and continue to touch the lives of the 1.7 million children who attend our traditional and charter schools throughout Michigan.

I have always been fascinated by the question, "What makes a teacher great?" This question has floated through my mind over the years as I reflected on the adults who influenced me and helped shape the course of my life. Like everyone else, I had my share of mediocre, indifferent and even downright lousy teachers. But it is the outstanding teachers who shine in my memory. I recall with real joy the educators who entranced me, supported me, nurtured me and held my mind happily captive, the ones who left an indelible impression on my spirit.

"What makes a teacher great?" is not an idle question, nor an unimportant one. As far back as the third century B.C., the Greek philosopher Diogenes noted that "the foundation of every state is the education of its youth." If anything, his observation has become more relevant with the passing of time.

So, as State Superintendent, I was in classrooms ranging from the inner-city of Detroit to the wealthy suburbs to the rural schools in Northern Michigan. I would always ask the students: "What makes your teacher great?"

The responses to this simple question are captured in this book. The title of the book, They Help Us Paint Rainbows, comes from a five year old girl in kindergarten. It was her response to my question. Some of my other favorites: "They lovingly kick our butts to help us learn." "They make sense out of nonsense." "They acknowledge that we are more than just test scores." "They help the class clown focus on learning because they love him, too."

No public funds were used to produce the book. With the generous support of Strategic Staffing Solutions in Detroit, a private business, and Wayne State College of Education, more than 30,000 copies were printed and distributed to teachers across the state and nation. There are even a few copies in China, India, Costa Rica and other countries around the globe.

Great teachers deserve all the praise we can give them.

I am extremely grateful to my former Chief of Staff with the Michigan Department of Education, Pam Wong who always took any idea I had and with a team of great people made the idea better and touched more lives in a powerful and positive way. Her work on The Help US Paint Rainbows and Thirty Ideas and 30 Days and so many others were award winning and recognized universally by her peers.

11) How did you come to help start the first charter schools in two different states?

Creating the first charter school in Michigan happened in the early 1990's. I was working at Wayne State University in Detroit. The President, David Adamany, had a heart of gold. He wanted to make a difference in the lives of children living in the neighborhood shared with the university. The children were not getting the education they needed and deserved.

The original goal was to enhance the academic performance of the neighborhood schools. The plan was to work with a cluster of Detroit Public Schools (five elementary schools and three middles schools that were feeder schools for one high school) and see if, by bringing together the collective resources of the university, we could work together to enhance the schools' academic performance.

After a year and a half of working with the school district on this collaboration project, and making no progress, we decided to create a charter school, the University Public School. The demand was very high. We had more than 6,000 unduplicated applications for 330 middle school slots.

A few years later I moved to Florida and met then-citizen Jeb Bush. I worked with him and his team to help create the first charter school in Liberty City (Miami), Florida. Yes, I am a Democrat. However, anyone who knows me knows that I will work with the devil himself if I believed it would benefit children. While I had my policy differences with the future Governor Jeb Bush, I never doubted his sincerity when it came to providing all children with a high quality education.

I wrote an article for the Democrat Leadership Council (DLC) about my experience creating charter schools. The DLC article was appropriated titled, "Presumed Guilty-- A Democrat that Believes in Charter Schools." I also wrote an article about charter schools for Education Week and other education publication in the US and overseas.

The fact is, today we have some great traditional public schools and fantastic charter schools. We also have both types that are not meeting the needs of our children. It pains me when I hear a traditional school superintendent bash all charter school or complain when they lose 300 kids to a charter school and are silent when thousands drop out and are on the street.

We will know we have made progress when we get to the point where we can talk about QUALITY schools regardless of what adjective proceeds their names.

12) Given your background and experience what is next for you?

I am enjoying the work that I am currently doing, working with schools and business to forge change and add value to the mission of a number of diverse organizations. However, I would consider an opportunity to lead a major foundation, business, or education organization that understands that real change requires real change. I find great personal and professional satisfaction in finding ways to help our children prosper in this tough global economy they are entering.  Working with like-minded professionals throughout my career has been a real joy for me. We owe it to our children to help give them a great start in life.

13) Anything else you would like to add?

Yes. I am a strong believer in public education. In fact, I believe our schools are the true Statue of Liberty of this great country of ours. Think about if for a minute, name another institution today that truly takes the tired, the hungry, the poor, and children with disabilities, and gives them hope and opportunity. Our public schools do so each and every day. If you believe our schools are the true Statue of Liberty, then our teachers are the torch lighting the way.

If you read this far--------- thank your parents and the great teachers who have touched your life.

And thanks, Education News, for the opportunity to share my views and the great service you provide.

Tom Watkins
President and CEO, TDW and Associates