The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Ring
Every presidential candidate in the 2008 elections vows to improve education, but which one has the best plan to get the job done? When it comes to the controversial No Child Left Behind Act, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee generally support it; Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want it drastically overhauled; and Ron Paul would scrap it altogether. The candidates have taken strong stances on everything, from universal pre-kindergarten to merit pay to private school vouchers. Whose vision best matches your own hopes for education in America? We want to know! (Candidates are listed alphabetically, and political affiliation is indicated after each name.)
Real teachers
Submitted by R. L. Herron (not verified) on June 6, 2008 - 19:40.
Make teaching a REAL profession that shows its importance and attract only the best and fully certified with pay that attracts the intelligent highly motivated individuals. Notify parents each day a NON teacher is in their child's classroom due to failure to attract a REAL teacher. At a time when teacher training is needed the most due to todays needs and students it is being reduced or waived. Get serious about education or the nation will pay the high price for failure.
If teacher pay is tied to
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 17, 2008 - 08:18.
If teacher pay is tied to student performance, how will teachers like librarians, music teachers, gym teachers, or guidance counselors be rewarded? There are excellent teachers in these fields--but their contributions to student test scores are less "measurable." If one of the candidates has addressed this and I've missed it please let me know!
the question
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 15, 2008 - 10:31.
You ask the wrong question. It should not be what is good for the education establishment, but what is good for the children.
Obama
Submitted by mike (not verified) on February 11, 2008 - 22:25.
Its simple, pay people more and they produce more. The only candidate that says they would pay teachers more for increased accountablitiy is Obama. NCLB has decimated what a classroom should actually be, the punishing rhetoric and follow through has burned out many of the good teachers we had. Teachers need to get paid for their increased accountablility, stupid kids cost a lot more than expensive teachers....
Pay for performance
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 15, 2008 - 12:46.
As a teacher, I already know that having stubborn, disruptive students in class will affect the performance of the rest of the students. When the performance of the students is not up to par, then the teacher will be blamed. It is a fact that there are classes of students that go all through their school years and are noted for being out of control. The class after them could be wonderful. Respectful, and ready to learn. I hate to think what the salary system will be like if we are judged on performance because inevitably it will be based on test scores.
Every student will be tested on the same material and be expected to attain the same level of achievement.
Not all students are created equal. (play on words). Some students will NEVER attain a passing level in algebra and still go on to live a full life. But all students must pass algebra in order to graduate in our district. If the special ed and ESOL students do not perform well, then the teachers are blamed and that could mean their pay is affected.
We already have a shortage of teachers, believe me, this will not improve the situation.
The most highly educated
Submitted by Brenda (not verified) on February 8, 2008 - 20:19.
The most highly educated candidate and the best example of what education helps to obtain in life would have been Mitt Romney.
I think he had the biggest heart for kids...he has 5 boys. I think he would have really cared about America's kids and encouraged the best educational and innovative programs.
Too bad he took himself out of the running.
Brenda - Pasco WA
Presidential candidates
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 8, 2008 - 07:52.
Presidential candidates improving public education? How about none of the above? According to the consitution, all powers not given specifically to the federal government belong to the states. Last time I checked education was one of those. The states sold control of public education to the federal government for those famous federal dollars that always come with strings. You want to improve public education? Three steps (1) evict the federal government and their cookie cutter "one size fits all" mentality (2) No Child Left Behind should be left behind and remembered as a failed experiment (3) Dismantle the Department of Education who's mission is to justify their jobs, the wasted funds, and the added levels of bureaucracy.
Ron Paul
Submitted by J Stratton (not verified) on February 15, 2008 - 09:12.
Those who would like to see the federal government romoved from regulating education and abolishing the federal Dept of Education should check out Ron Paul's position on education. It's too bad he has ruled out running as a Libertarian.
Instead of none of the
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 15, 2008 - 09:08.
Instead of none of the above, see Ron Paul's views on education, they very closely match yours. (and mine)
Teachers become teachers to
Submitted by Kathy Thomas (not verified) on February 7, 2008 - 14:50.
Teachers become teachers to help the youth in their communities be able to live enriched lives as adults, be able to take care of themselves and their families and to make a positive impact in the world. You have to really care about kids to do that. I know this probably sounds dumb but what they hey. Why not let teachers and parents make decisions on NCLB, whether to keep it, dump it, modify it or whatever? It just doesn't seem reasonable to let people who are not in the trenches everyday make those kinds of decisions about such precious cargo. After all, I can't think of anybody better that holds the best interests of our future leaders at heart.
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