While we sure wish George Lucas could fix education the way his movies vanquish evil empires, we appreciate The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s efforts to enlighten us to the future of education. The group has announced its annual list of ten predictions for the school year ahead.

Featured in the September 2007 issue of the magazine and on Edutopia.org, this look to the future for ideas to improve education is based on the knowledge of experts and lessons learned over the course of the school year before.

"At Edutopia, we look at the Big Picture," said Edutopia editor in chief James Daly. "While we don't expect the problems that beset public education to be solved tomorrow, we do believe that our predictions, which range from possible to probable, serve as a guide to encourage those in education to strive for significant change."

The predictions range from obvious (see #5) to intriguing (see #’s 1, 8 and 9) to unlikely (given the one school-year time frame, see #’s 2 and 7). They’re a provocative insight into the minds that your hard-earned Star Wars ticket money is currently supporting.

Herewith we present Edutopia's Ten Predictions for the School Year Ahead

1. Chinese will be the new French.

2. No Child Left Behind will be accepted, if grudgingly, as a fact of educational life, but will evolve by policy advocates and new Congressional leadership.

3. Online learning for students and teachers will grow exponentially.

4. Increasing access to digital content will lead to an exponential growth in school-based online communities on the MySpace/YouTube model.

5. As the presidential campaign gains momentum, civics and politics will be front and center in the classroom.

6. Merit pay and other new approaches will be seen as the best answer to getting and retaining gifted teachers.

7. A Sputnik-like crisis in scientific literacy will lead to a revitalization of science teaching.

8. After-school and off-site programs using community expertise will take on the bulk of arts teaching.

9. Vocational-education academies will energize the American workforce.

10. U.S. education will increase and adapt school time to match student needs.