The New York Times has a story about US foreign policy directed at schools in “friendly Muslim countries,” Livening Up Today’s Lesson, Courtesy of Uncle Sam.

WLINGI, Indonesia, Aug. 3 — …Contending that lively lessons, engaged teachers and interested parents can promote tolerance and counteract extreme Islamic views, the Bush administration has made promoting education a focus of assistance to friendly Muslim countries through the United States Agency for International Development.

What does it mean when we give money to private religious schools overseas to make learning fun and engaging while we spend money in public schools at home for testing and drilling? And What will be the measure of success for those schools in Indonesia?

…The final test of whether the $157 million has been well invested, educators say, will be whether the new ideas endure.

We could use a little of that here in our own schools. After throwing millions down a testing rat hole in the US, whose ideas will endure?