A description and analysis of the America 2000 educational strategy emphasizes the questions of what children and youths deserve and need in terms of education, and what the process of taking children and youth seriously involves in practice for teachers, administrators, parents, and others. After stressing that America 2000 is a national, rather than a federal, strategy, the paper identifies, and assesses the plausibility of, the six national educational goals and four interlocking tracks of personal and institutional effort set forth in America 2000. The disadvantaged environment in which many children live is then discussed in terms of its effects on children's lives and prospects and on the educational system that serves them. The paper then takes a critical look at what children are learning and failing to learn from their parents, educators, peers, and the media. The following sections analyze America 2000 in terms of criticisms leveled against it and the issues of: (1) diversity and pluralism; (2) the purposes of education; (3) overreliance on Head Start; and (4) a national curriculum and national assessment. After asserting the value of good standards and tests as a basis for teacher and administrator education, the paper describes the Boston University's Accelerated Preparation for Teaching program. Final comments focus on family participation in the education of the young and parental choice of schools. (AC)