Obama's Education Plan

Education has never been a major campaign theme - which seems odd, because if you want to talk about something that binds all people together, education is certainly something everyone can relate to. Americans have all attended some sort of school, millions of eligible voters are in school, and millions more have kids in school. Is the topic of education not sexy enough of a topic? Does it not carry the extreme buzzword factor of economy, terrorism, or Iraq? Or, does it not seem to matter?

Granted, education has always seemed more like a local issue that communities and districts have more sway over, so that may be why national candidates don't really force the issue. But with NCLB, it certainly became more of national and state issue. President-elect Obama picks right up with NCLB on his website, and although education was largely ignored in the election and debates (500 points if you can point me to a presidential debate reference to education), Obama made the case on his website. So, what are his positions for K-12?

1. Barack Obama will Reform No Child Left Behind

Wow - swinging right out the gate! At the very least, Obama has identified with a cause that the large majority of educators would agree with. Does the public have a problem with NCLB? I guess I have never seen the numbers, but I wonder if the average citizen knows its flaws? Many must, otherwise it wouldn't be #1 on Obama's list. Anyway, Obama says that the goal of NCLB is in the right place, but the methodology is flawed ( he is not going out on a limb here), and that students shouldn't be judged by filling bubbles on a test. So, how will Obama fix this glaring problem? According to the site:

He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama and Biden will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

Not very specific. I don't think the "yes we can" approach will work here. I like where his head is at, but how will assessments be "improved?" I'd love to hear it, and I'm hoping that when NCLB is reformed, prominent educators and teachers work on the bill and make it actually reasonable. I do appreciate the fact that Obama claims schools will not be "punished", hopefully eliminating the irony of an education program that punishes lower-performing schools as opposed to assisting them (imagine if we treated our kids that way).

2. Teacher Retention is a Problem

Coming from the field, I am not surprised teacher retention is an issue. Low pay, no merit, and little recognition. I love my job, but I can see why others would leave for a higher paying field. To fix this problem, Obama offers merit pay for teachers based on success (not sure how this would judged), and to better recruit and train teachers. It would be awesome to see an army of better educated teachers, but I still think it is all about money (sad, but true). If the starting pay for a teacher was something like $50,000 and increased from there, you'd better believe there would be better, more qualified individuals lining up for teaching jobs. Granted, more may flock to teaching now because of the job security and pension of the profession, but lets hope Obama follows through on his plan.

Technology and Jimmy's Final Thoughts

Technology is noticeably absent from Obama's proposal, so I can't really speak much about his thoughts. Better-funded schools would mean better technology in schools, so I suppose I could put two and two together that way. Obama has two young girls in school, so I bet he knows the importance of technology in education. Still, I'm not sure the public is well aware of the importance of technology in schools, so making a campaign issue out of it would seem rather silly.

Generally speaking, I like where Obama's heart is, but he is here and there with specifics to his plan. I do agree with his ideas with NCLB, teacher retention, and support of early childhood programs. Talk is talk, though, so I will be curious to see what happens. We do live in a republic with a House and Senate, so any of Obama's ideas would need to be introduced in Congress and go through the process (watch this video to get a grasp of how this works). Anything Obama proposed in his campaign needs a lot of work and support to actually happen, but I'm pulling for him, and for us.