School reform -- more success or stress?

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft's swan song -- or lame-duck dirge -- could have a big impact on your family life. If legislators agree with Taft, your teenager's school schedule will get tougher and, like it or not, he'll be taking far tougher math and science classes than you were ever required to take.

As our Sunday, Nov. 19, editorial says, it's the right thing to do -- too many Ohio kids have been allowed to plan schedules around comfort rather than intellectual challenge -- but it triggers many questions.

Does a tougher schedule require more time to master it? If so, can your family deal with a longer school year, longer school days, after-school tutorial programs?

Must adults recognize that higher standards equal more stress for already over-tested, over-measured, over-remediated kids? If so, do you worry how much more pressure your kids can take?

And does 'tightening the curriculum' -- when it is translated into daily life in the classroom -- really mean enriching it, or simply taking out the spontaneity and creativity that make learning truly meaningful?

Legislators will weigh cost versus benefit to the state. It's up to us parents to think about the effects on real kids.