Obama gave a 20-minute speech to a large crowd at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton, Colorado on May 28, 2008. What can we expect if he is elected?
Obama began by praising the students at Mapleton for their impressive improvements pointing out that three years ago only half were college bound. This graduating senior class has 100% of students attending college. He proclaimed Mapleton as a model for the nation.
Pitfalls In Current Educational System
Obama then proceeded to point out the pitfalls of our national educational system.
6 million students read below grade level
Only 20% are prepared to take college classes in English, math and science
Half of teenagers understand basic fractions
Students receive an average of only 25 minutes of science daily
Only one in ten black and Latino 8th graders are proficient in math
Obama stated that these statistics are unacceptable.
No Child Left Behind
NCLB was praised by Obama for its goals.
Making a promise to educate every child with an excellent teacher
Closing the achievement gap that exists in too many cities and rural areas
More accountability
High standards
He then pointed out the fact that many schools have broken these promises. Foreign nations are outeducating us in math and science. High stakes testing is crowding out the fine arts. Obama wants to take the weak areas of NCLB and correct them. Fixing what is wrong with NCLB is just the beginning.
Obama’s Educational Plan
Create a new Service Scholarship program to recruit top talent into the profession and begin by placing these new teachers in struggling districts in math and science.
Create Teacher Residency Programs to train 30,000 highly qualified teachers a year. Recruit more individuals into teaching from other professions.
Expand mentoring by pairing a successful and experienced teacher with a new recruit for the first year.
Reward successful teachers and those that take on extra responsibilities.
$4000 tax credit to cover two-thirds of college tuition at a public university and junior colleges would be completely free. Students would repay this gift with volunteer work or joining the Peace Corps.
Paperwork for financial aid would be as simple as a checking a box on the income tax form. The challenging FAFSA prevents students from going to college.
Expand outreach programs for the black, Latino and poor. Funding for after school programs and expanded summer learning should be doubled.
In Closing
"This is the commitment we must make to our children. This is the chance they must have. And I will never forget that the only reason I’m standing here today is because I was given that same chance. And so was my wife. Each of us should have the chance to achieve the American dream," said Barack Obama in closing.
Source: The Denver Post, May 28, 2008
The copyright of the article Obama On Education in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Obama On Education in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
There is no "change" here. We already have Teach for America.
We already have in place a recruitment process to allow people from the
private sector to teach in their major fields. We already mentor new
teachers. We've tried merit pay (rewarding successful teachers) and if
failed miserably because of internal school politics. Simplifying the
FAFSA paperwork has already passed and will be in place in a year or
two--Bush's doing. We already have after school and summer programs--he
wants to increase funding for more. Again, nothing new here. Obama is
taking advantage of people not paying close attention to what is already
going on in education. And, the NEA supports him? Why?
Sep 16, 2008 8:11 AM
Guest :
The poor do deserve an education. They are already getting it. We are
working four jobs to send our daughter through college to prevent us going
in debt up to our eyeballs. My nephew is going for almost nothing because
the family is poor. My sister owes the college nothing, zero, as a single
parent for the entire year at a private college and my nephew qualified for
a PELL grant, subsidized loans, college grants and work study. It's the
middle class that Obama wants to tax more that needs the help.
Oct 23, 2008 6:52 AM
Guest :
What about starting with the family like those below. Education use to be
the answer. School was the student's job. It was their job to go and do
their best or pay the price at home. Teachers were once respected.
Now....everything else in a child's life is more important...tv, sports,
shopping, drugs, vacations, etc. It's now the teacher's fault for
everything from poor attendance, poor grades to not making the team. The "CHANGE" we need and both candidates need to stess....is
family values. Start with the family on up and education, crime, the work
fields,etc. will improve.
Oct 23, 2008 7:13 AM
Guest :
Can anyone tell me anything at all about Obama's views and policies
regarding homeschooling? It doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere by
either candidates and I wish to know how the right to homeschool will be
affected by the election.
Oct 23, 2008 7:49 AM
Guest :
Well, I'll just take a guess here. He is adamantly against vouchers
because public funding could go to schools where there could be religion
taught. He has socialist and Marxist views on almost everything. I guess
we don't do a good job teaching what Marxism is because the public isn't
catching on that his "redistribution of wealth" has already been
tried behind the Iron Curtain and it doesn't work.
So, my
guess would be that he would either eliminate homeschooling or regulate it
so that you would have to teach sex education, his form of history, black
history, enforce quotas and probably lose funding if religion is involved.
If you read between his eloquent lines, you will see this mentioned
vaguely--but mentioned. His "friend" Bill Ayers has a curriculum
he wants to force schools to teach about gays in elementary grades
promoting promiscuity in middle school and high school.
With
Nancy Pilosi in charge, a Democratic majority and Reed, they'll be able to
push through any liberal agenda they choose. And, with a newly appointed
supreme court, challenges will not be heard. It will be Liberal Heaven and
moral values will really take a hit.
Oct 30, 2008 4:38 PM
Guest :
Government wants highly qualified teachers, then it needs to monitor more
closely school district hiring practices. Teachers get the shaft. What
really upsets me, is when school districts hire unqualified teachers in
order to save money. They do this frequently and avail themselves of the
provisions set out by government that justify them hiring for
"so-called" critical needs areas. They lie to parents and the
government. I've seen alot of nepotism in school districts. They hire
friends of a friend who, although not qualified for that particular area,
have some sort of degree.I work at a good school district. It is a poor
school district but my colleagues are wonderful and even with the limited
teaching resources and the ups and downs, I love my students. Oh, and I do
work in a "critical needs" area.
Oct 30, 2008 4:40 PM
Guest :
Government wants highly qualified teachers, then it needs to monitor more
closely school district hiring practices. Teachers get the shaft. What
really upsets me, is when school districts hire unqualified teachers in
order to save money. They do this frequently and avail themselves of the
provisions set out by government that justify them hiring for
"so-called" critical needs areas. They lie to parents and the
government. I've seen alot of nepotism in school districts. They hire
friends of a friend who, although not qualified for that particular area,
have some sort of degree.I work at a good school district. It is a poor
school district but my colleagues are wonderful and even with the limited
teaching resources and the ups and downs, I love my students. Oh, and I do
work in a "critical needs" area.
