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Presents the views of the author, a former U.S. secretary of education, on the outlook for education. Contention that schools will emphasize early childhood education and will have a strengthened curricula; View that schools will gain increased sensitivity to the differing needs of a diverse population; Overview of the author's tenure; The need to balance academic achievement with character education.

This article discusses the role of vocational-technical education in achieving national education goals, describes some recent developments in the field, and analyze the likely impact of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act. The rapid face of technological change and economic restructuring means that schools must provide lifelong learning opportunities for adults to retrain for new job opportunities. For many Americans, it is vocational-technical and adult education programs that will provide these opportunities, that will serve as the bridge from school to work, that will offer a path to economic self-sufficiency and responsible citizenship. Vocational-technical education benefited from educational reform efforts to expand access, improve programs and increase accountability in the educational system. There are 3 strategies currently being used to strengthen vocational-technical education: encouragement of closer links between education and business; focus on at-risk students by offering applied, experience-based learning opportunities; coordination of the last 2 years of high school with 2 years of postsecondary occupational instruction or tech-prep curriculum.

Presents a letter to the editor in response to the article "Biting the Bullet on Science Education," by Margaret L.A. MacVicar in the Fall 1990 issue of "Issues."