I believe that rapid and frequent shifts in ideologies in education is not fruitful and will cause a lack of consistency and confusion in the educational system. There are principles in education that are never changing: reading, writing, and comprehension. While we live in a world where technology advances at a rapid rate, students must know how to write legibly, clearly, and with understanding. No longer are we competing only on the domestic front. We now compete on a global basis, and these "common principles" are consistent in other countries. These are the basics. When we move away from or making frequent shifts in the basics, we lose the core of our educational system, hinder the learning environment and objectives for every student, and sabotage our own ability to compete globally.