education@the.century's.end

There's nothing magical about the century's end--we're betting that January 1, 2000, will be little different than December 31, 1999. But the benchmark is a convenient excuse to take stock. In that spirit, we sought out the wisdom of two sages of education. Ted Sizer and Denis Doyle don't preach from the same bible: Sizer--the founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools and until recently the acting principal of the Frances W. Parker Charter Essential School in Massachusetts--is a guru of progressive teaching; Doyle--a scholar who worked in the U.S. Department of Education from 1973 to 1984--is a leading light among conservatives. But both are eloquent, passionate advocates for better schools. And both are good writers: Sizer, best-known for his trilogy about a fictional high school teacher named Horace, recently co-authored The Students Are Watching (Beacon Press) with his wife, Nancy (his co-principal at Parker); Doyle has written many books about education, including the noted Winning the Brain Race (Institute for Contemporary Studies Press), with David Kearns.

S izer and Doyle recently spent several weeks ruminating on the state of education through an exchange of e-mails in which they spar over philosophy, look to the future, and sum up historical trends.

FROM: Forester@edu.com

TO: DPdoyle@school.com

RE: THE "BLOB," THE INTERNET, AND THE ACADEMY