Throughout
this prolonged presidential campaign the three main candidates –
Senators John S. McCain III (R-AZ), Barack H. Obama (D-IL), and Hillary
Rodham Clinton (D-NY) – have spent most of their time arguing about the
war in Iraq, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the
housing crisis, the economy and healthcare. Oh yes, and change of one
sort or another, although the specifics of their calls for change are
difficult to discern. Change for its own sake is not necessarily a
positive idea, and once we reach the general election campaign, McCain
and the Democratic nominee will have to provide more details about what
he or she wants to change and why. Of course, details do not provide
good sound bytes for the nightly news, whereas “change” does, but
educated voters will want to know what they should expect for the next
four years.
One
of the issues the candidates have not discussed is education. What is
the role of the Federal Government in education and what do they
propose to do about the abysmal public schools in America? These
questions and more for the most part have remained unanswered in their
speeches. A quick perusal of their campaign websites, however, gives
some revealing answers about their positions on education.
McCain, the Republican nominee, begins by stating that he “understands
that we are a nation committed to equal opportunity, and there is no
equal opportunity without equal access to excellent education.” Fair
enough. He proceeds to note that parents should be able to choose the
school their children attend, criticizing Members of Congress who send
their own children to private schools but refuse to support school
choice for others. Then he uses another “c” word – “we should let
[schools] compete for the most effective, character-building teachers,
hire them, and reward them.” Choice and competition are two
very effective tools for reforming our schools. I would add a third
“c” to that list – curriculum – but, as education should be a local
issue, curriculum must be reformed at the state or district level.
Finally, McCain claims that he will “pursue reforms that address the
underlying cultural problems in our education system - a system that
still seeks to avoid genuine accountability and responsibility for
producing well-educated children.” What these cultural problems are he
does not say. Most likely they would begin with the stranglehold
teachers’ unions have over the education system, stifling any dissent
from or attempt to change the status quo. There is also the problem of
family structure and support in many working-class families but the
President of the United States cannot impose a top-down change in the
nuclear family. The family is the building block of American society,
not another social group to be manipulated by bureaucrats and
politicians (though some certainly are trying).
Clinton
is more precise in her education proposal. She begins by explaining
her previous work with children, including a stint as a staff attorney
for the Children’s Defense Fund and various posts in Arkansas before
her sojourn as First Lady. Her current education proposal outlines new
policies for each stage of education, beginning with early childhood.
She wants prekindergarten for all four-year olds and nurse home
visitations to help new parents develop parenting skills. The former
would do nothing to change the current dismal state of education while
the latter would be an expensive and invasive new mandate. For K-12
Clinton proposes ending No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which is not a bad
idea. She also wants to “recruit
and retain thousands more outstanding teachers and principals,
especially in urban and rural areas” and “cut the minority drop-out
rate in half,” although her solution is to throw $1 billion more at
them, providing “multiple pathways to graduation,” whatever that
means. My favorite, though, is her goal of creating “‘Green Schools’
in order to reduce energy costs and eliminate environmental hazards
that can hinder children's development.” What more do I need to say.
Education problem solved right there!
Obama’s
layout is similar to Clinton’s but begins by listing the five problems
with American education as he sees them. They are NCLB’s lack of
funding, America’s low scores in reading and math, the high dropout
rate, teacher retention and soaring college costs. To alleviate these
problems, Obama wants to expand Head Start, help states move to
voluntary, universal pre-school; fund NCLB; make math and science a
national priority (while not mentioning history or English); and create
and fund various other programs geared specifically toward poor and
minority students.
All
three candidates fail to address properly the problems in American
education. McCain is on the right track by emphasizing competition and
choice but he lacks specific proposals. Clinton and Obama both want
public education at an earlier age, which is unlikely to solve our
problems, and to throw more money at a broken system instead of doing
the really difficult task of repairing the system and cleaning out
those who want no change, no choice, and no competition.
What
these candidates should offer is a return to local control, an emphasis
upon improved and more rigorous curricula, school choice and
competition, and a significant reduction in the power of teachers’
unions. These would begin the process of improvement that we
desperately need and make education more flexible and responsive to
peoples needs. And that is real change we could believe in.