"Why?" Questions for Education

As I reflected on discussions about education at the national and state level and my experiences as an educator for 45 years, I want to pose these why? questions for education. I don't have the answers, but I believe that these are questions we might explore if we want to make the kinds of changes that are necessary to prepare our children to inherit a world where they can make a difference. Here are some of my why? questions:

• Why are schools so "traditional" and why is it so hard to change?
• Why aren't we looking at different ways to fund the building and/or upgrading our schools to the 21st century?
• Why can't developers be responsible to build schools for the areas they are developing?
• Why do we need standardized report cards to tell us how a student is doing in school? What do grades really tell us about a student? 
• Why do we need standardized tests? What do these tests really tell us that we didn't already know about a student?
• Why do we have grade level standards? What would be a better way of collecting evidences of student progress - where they started and where they are now - as opposed to where we say they need to be by the end of a grade level?
• If we value innovation and diversity, why are we so intent on standardizing education?
• Why do we keep talking about school reform? When will we stop talking and do something amazing that will keep our teachers excited about teaching and our kids excited about learning?
• Why aren't educators valued in the United States as they are in other countries?

And my most important why? question is:  If we say that the 'children are our future,' why aren't we willing to invest in that future?

What questions would you add to the discussion?