As a former public school student from Massachusetts and, especially, as my sister’s older brother, I am concerned with what the outcome of this 2012 Presidential Election will mean for our nation’s educational system.
I didn’t have to do much research to see that President Obama knows what he’s talking about. The president’s White House web page proudly displays a complete and detailed summary of his plans and successes in such areas as reforming and expanding the Head Start program (a program I have personally seen the good of while working at Head Start Allston-Brighton) and securing a diverse force of teachers. By signing the Education Jobs Bill in 2010, he provided states with ten billion dollars in emergency funds, enabling schools to keep their teachers in the face of severe budget cuts. And as part of the American Jobs Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestments Act of 2010, the nation’s schools have been equipped with modern tools, facilities, and curriculums.
The Obama administration has also laid out specific plans to encourage parents in their children’s education, and forge teacher-parent relationships, doubling the funds for this initiative.But educational reform under the Obama administration has not been an entirely federal, “top-down” approach as Romney charges. By offering rewards for states whose students perform highly in certain areas, the administration has encouraged incentives to improve between states. The president has thus been able to use his exclusively executive powers to boost education and transform educational reform into a new, exciting endeavor.
The official White House website also boasts two other files as part of their education initiative: “Support for Higher Education” and “Education for the Future.” The very presence of these titles was enough to inspire me to tears.
Mitt Romney’s site for education reform made me
cry too….
Hidden away in small-print, not even displayed on the campaign’s main page, is the link labeled “Education.” Upon clicking on the link, I was led to a one page list of the most obvious and undeniable statements concerning education: “Reward Great Teachers,” “Improve Curriculums,” etc. But I was horrified to realize that these deceptively link-looking titles were not links to further information at all. Romney’s page lacks the “innovative” features that are repeatedly promised throughout his website, giving more detail on President Obama’s plan to address education reform than his own
So let’s look at his record. As governor of Massachusetts, he seemed more interested in enforcing his own conservative agenda than promoting the well-being of students, restricting sexual health and foreign language instruction. In fact, Gov. Romney seemed less interested in introducing “innovative” educational reform than signing bills proposed by the popular legislature into law. Instead of forging a strong base of teachers, Mr. Romney attempted to crush unions of teachers and professors in high schools and community colleges. Per capita funding for school systems also fell.
Currently, both candidates are providing Americans with an idea of how they regard the education system on the campaign trail. President Obama has spent vastly more time since the beginning of his 2012 campaign in public high schools and universities than Mr. Romney has. And, during the October fifth presidential debate, Mr. Romney was pressed to utter the word “education” even once.
I am terrified that a man like former governor Romney is this close to the Presidency. But as Election Day draws near, only one thing is clear: When it comes to successful education reform, Mitt Romney is writing a paper on a book he’s never read.
-- Thomas MacDonald
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