Education and Children

My Aunt Neva writes me:

"
Dan, it would be great if you would get this message out!
Neva
http://www.4children.org/news/908prese.htm
"

The link provided here is a comprehensive look at how the candidates view issues most important to children: eduation, health, poverty, government spending, etc. It provides an important perspective.

But I'm sure some follks out there would rather just talk about lipstick. Unbelievable.


Article:
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept 09, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Barack Obama chose Ohio as the place to lay out a comprehensive vision for public education in a speech at Stebbins High School in the Dayton area. Despite some mistaken analysis of the speech by the media, Obama's positions on a wide variety of issues are quite close to core beliefs of the National Education Association (NEA), the Ohio Education Association (OEA) and our members. OEA members applauded his approach - to rise above partisanship toward a vision for a public education system that works.

"Senator Barack Obama understands that reform takes time and dedication and that true reform requires more than quick fixes," said OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks. "His compelling vision and comprehensive strategies, both immediate and long-term, will pay dividends for our children, our communities and our state." In his speech Barack Obama committed to:

-- fixing and funding NCLB - after eight years of unfunded mandates
-- enhanced programs for recruiting, preparing and retaining teachers
-- overcoming the overemphasis on high-stakes tests
-- promoting 21st century skills, innovation and creativity
-- expanding early childhood programs so children come to school prepared to learn
-- calling for parental responsibility and involvement in the education of their children - both at school and in the home
-- pushing college-level coursework in high schools, such as advanced placement courses
-- holding the federal government accountable for its commitments on education
-- finding "new ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them," affirming collective bargaining rights.

On charter schools, Obama said Ohio should not have to endure private for-profit charter school operators who continue to sponsor under-performing public schools. He promised to:
-- work with governors in all states to insist on more accountability and transparency in the operation and academic performance evaluations of charter schools.
-- help successful charter schools grow, but close down the ones that are failing.

Speech:
Barack Obama
Dayton, Ohio 9/9/08
I believe the day of reckoning is here. (Cheers, applause.) Our -- our children and our country can't afford four more years of neglect and indifference. (Cheers, applause.) At this -- at this defining moment in our history, America faces few more urgent challenges than preparing our children to compete in a global economy. The decisions our leaders make about education in the coming years will shape our future for generations to come. They will help determine not only whether our children have the chance to fulfill their God-given potential or whether our workers have the chance to build a better life for their families, but whether we as a nation will remain in the 21st century the kind of global economic leader that we were in the 20th century.

And the rising importance of education reflects the new demands of our new world. In recent decades, revolutions in communications and information technology have broken down barriers that once kept countries and markets apart, creating a single, global economy that's more integrated and interconnected than ever before. In this economy, companies can plant their jobs wherever there's an Internet connection and someone willing to do the work, meaning that children here in Dayton are growing up competing with children not only in Detroit or Chicago or Los Angeles, but in Beijing and Delhi as well.

What matters, then, isn't what you do or where you live, but what you know. When two-thirds -- (applause) -- of all new jobs require a higher education or advanced training, knowledge is the most valuable skill you can sell. (Applause.) It's not only a pathway to opportunity, but it's a prerequisite for opportunity. Without a good preschool education, our children are less likely to keep up with their peers. Without a high school diploma -- (applause) -- without a high school diploma, you're likely to make about three times less than a college graduate. And without a college degree or industry certification, it's harder and harder to find a job that can help you support your family and keep up with rising costs.

It's not just that a world-class education is essential for workers to compete and win, it's that an educated workforce is essential for America to compete and win. (Applause.) Without a workforce trained in math, science and technology, and the other skills of the 21st century, our companies will innovate less, our economy will grow less, and our nation will be less competitive. If we want to outcompete the world tomorrow, we must out-educate the world today. (Cheers, applause.)

Let me -- let me be more specific. If we want to keep building the cars of the future here in America, then we can't afford to see the number of Ph.D.s in engineering climbing in China, South Korea and Japan even as it's dropped here in the United States. We can't afford a future where our high school students rank near the bottom in -- in math and science among industrialized countries, and our high school drop-out rate is one of the highest in the industrialized world.