He did say "rigorous"......unfortunately, anything RIGOROUS will have to be done OUTSIDE of a government bureaucracy....our schools are SOCIALISTIC and cannot be fixed. If he had made a case for vouchers or homeschooling I would have more hope, but I doubt that Gates will buck the politicians and teachers unions. But, I COULD be WRONG.
Well, not all teachers belong to unions. My daughter is a teacher and she does not belong to a union. As a matter of fact, she said the other day that she was sure that teachers would not mind not getting a raise if the money were put towards making classes smaller so that teachers could spend more time with each student and so that students who need special ed could get it.
Also, not all politicians are against good education. Here in Virginia we have some of the best state colleges in the country.