The Candidates on Education

Education is an issue that is close to my heart. As a student at Dale Elementary in Dale, OK, I recieved much of the nurturing and care that was lost on me and my siblings at home. I was the kid that stayed behind to help my teachers with menial tasks just to have those precious moments with a responsible adult. I'm sure they knew what was happening but they'll never know the extent to which they helped me.

After having taught in public and private schools, I am still a staunch supporter of public education. At its best public education is the great equalizer providing a ladder out of an unacceptable situation. At its worst it serves to reinforce the status quo by sending students living in fractured inner city communities to crumbling schools to share outdated classroom textbooks and students in shiny new suburbs to state of the art schools with sparklingly clean floors and updated laptops.

How do the candidates for president see the future of public schools after January 20, 2009? Here are the two candidates speaking about their vision for public schooling along with links to their plans for education.

First John McCain:





McCain's Stance on Education



Next we have Barack Obama:


Obama's Stance on Education