Simple Man Politics

Hello and welcome all my friends to today’s installment of Simple Man Politics. I have been trying to figure out all weekend what to write for today’s post, and it occurred to me that today is the first day after summer break that both of my children (teenagers) will be back in school. So I thought to myself, why not write about education, the candidate’s views on the subject, and my own opinions based on my being a parent (and a pretty awesome one at that).

A Few Statistics
Over six million middle and high school students read below their grade level. A third of high school graduates do not immediately go on to college. American 15 year olds rank 28th out of 40 countries in mathematics and 19th out of 40 countries in science. About 30% of students in their first year of college are forced to take science and math classes because they are not prepared. America also has one of the highest dropout rates in the industrialized nations. About 70% of high school students graduate with a diploma, and the percentages are lower for African Americans, and Latinos. Roughly 30% of new teachers leave their jobs within five years of beginning their careers.

Obama on Education
Both of our current Presidential contenders believe that some form of comprehensive education reform is in order. Barack Obama believes that the goal of No Child Left Behind, (NCLB) was the right one, but has failed for lack of funding and implementation by the education department. A flawed design of the law has diminished its effectiveness, and undercut the support for it as well. Consequentially the law has failed to supply, support, and pay the caliber of teachers needed in every classroom. He would reform No Child Left Behind, make math and science a national priority, and address the dropout crisis amongst other things in his education plan.

McCain's Point of View
John McCain believes that No Child Left Behind, (NCLB) has focused our attention on the realities of how students perform against a common standard, and that we can no longer accept high standards from some students, and low standards from others. However he does see the need for some reform in our educational system including addressing the underlying cultural problems in our education system. He believes that parents should have the right to place their children in schools that benefit them academically, and to remove them from schools that don’t. McCain also believes that schools are responsible for educating our children and should be held accountable when they do not. You can read more about it in his education plan.

My Personal Experience
This past school year was the first for my children in Arizona, and my daughter attended a middle school where language was definitely a problem. Two thirds of the student body were Hispanic, and better than half of those were the children of illegal aliens, which led to the emergence of gangs. The teachers and faculty were overwhelmed by everything and could never gain control of their school. As a result my daughters studies suffered. Being her fathers daughter, she had a zero tolerance policy where it concerns bullies, and couldn’t resist taking them out when the opportunity presented itself, which resulted in suspension twice last school year. She has transferred to a new school this year, and it is much better academically and provides a safer environment in which to pursue her educational career. My son’s school however, has been top shelf from day one, and has great department for the educationally gifted.

The Bottom Line
I personally believe that both candidates believe that a quality education is something that our children have a right to and deserve, although they may go about it differently. I also believe that the schools are responsible for educating our children, but that we as parents are responsible for staying actively involved in our children’s education, which is often a hard thing to do when you have to bust your hump day in, and day out to make ends meet.

One of the things I think they can do to make the quality of our children’s education better is to make English a required language in our schools. If you can’t speak the language then learn it. If you can’t learn it, then they should have schools for people who don’t speak English that cater to foreign languages till such time as the student acquires a sufficient working knowledge of English to enter the public school system. I also think that educating illegal aliens is not our job either. Let them go back where they came from and go to school, so their countries can benefit from them. As far as gangs go, pass the right laws so that our law enforcement officers can come in and clean them out of our schools without having to fear they might be sued for violating the civil rights of someone who isn’t here legally in the first place.

Last but not least, hold your senator’s and congressmen accountable as they are the ones who make the laws we have to live by, and you do that at the voting booths. That’s all I have to say for now, but I will see you all Wednesday for another fun and fact filled post. Have a great day, CIAO4NOW!!!!!