I receive Edutopia - a free magazine published by the George Lucas Foundation. There are often a lot of good articles - cutting edge, thought-provoking ideas - thoughts to challenge the way we view our profession and help us think outside the box. Overall, I've been pleased with the magazine. Until this month.

On page 60 (www.edutopia.org/1654), there is an interview with Penn & Teller. I have never really thought much of this duo - I haven't had much respect for them since I started hearing about their series on Showtime. They are very opinionated - and their opinions are rarely the same as mine. Including their views on education.

In the middle of the interview, Penn & Teller were asked "If you could change one thing about education, what would it be?" Penn answered, "No public schools!" Teller, a former public high school teacher from New Jersey, said, "Stop it from being compulsory."

I don't even know that Penn's answer deserves the energy it takes to type a response. What would happen if we didn't have public schools? I was just outraged by that comment. Maybe you have some idea of what it would be like? Would we only have private schools, so only those who could afford it would be educated? Would we leave education up to individual families? That will never work. He didn't indicate any reason for his answer, or any alternative for public schools - so I guess it's open to interpretation. And I really don't think many people share the same opinion, anyway.

Teller's remark, on the other hand, had a qualifier: "Children are taught from an early age that learning is something they're stuck with. They have to go to school, just as you have to pay taxes. Making something compulsory negates all value and joy." Possibly true, but unfortunately, not everyone sees the value in a quality education, and I'm afraid that without compulsory school laws, we might as well go with the "no public schools" philosophy.

So . . . here are some things to think about: How do we improve the image of public education so that the Penns and Tellers of the world are not so critical of our profession and the institution that we so whole-heartedly believe in? Do we fail to make school something that children look forward to, thereby negating "all value and joy"? If so, where? What can we do about it?

Then when you're ready for a positive take on education, check out the September issue's interview with Dolly Parton: www.edutopia.org/1618