Nate's question does a great job of shifting the terms of our discussion to a much broader perspective. We often hear politicians speak about policies and programs to target specific problems within the education system, but we rarely hear them talk about the much larger question of how to train and educate a society.

It's also a pretty timely issue given the recent debates sparked by the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce's recent report on education and the workforce. Over the summer at the Colorado state capitol I heard a lot of discussion about the report and the question of evaluating all levels of education, and I think it's an issue that definitely needs an appropriate national response.