This is how Bernie or Hillary wins: The speech that would seal the nomination
We're days from New Hampshire and the battle keeps tightening. Here's how either candidate could gain separation
BERTIS DOWNS
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders (Credit: AP/Reuters/Brian Snyder/Joshua Roberts/AVAVA via Shutterstock/Photo montage by Salon)
Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have decided to start talking about the state of K-12 public education in recent weeks. This is a very positive, if overdue, development, with both of them questioning the efficacy and priority of charter schools in the national dialogue on educating our children; and Sanders recently proposing a new, equity-focused approach to funding education in the United States.
Still, the candidates’ words don’t seem to resonate with many of the largely untapped public education parents and teachers who are in search of a candidate. Neither candidate really has a grasp on the varied and complex issues that have to be addressed when considering the changes and reforms our schools and children truly need. Let’s help their campaigns by outlining the speech that at least one of them ought to give — and soon.
Which campaign wants to lay claim to public schools supporters? Easy. Whoever embraces these ideas first. Just imagine:
Somewhere in New Hampshire:
A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON A TRULY CHILD-CENTERED AND EFFECTIVE PUBLIC EDUCATION POLICY
Good morning. I want to spend a few minutes today considering the past, present and future of public education in our country— a topic too long ignored in this election year.
We know several things about public education. We know it is the road out of poverty for many children. We know many or most of our public schools are doing a fine job of educating our children. But we also know our nation still suffers from generations of neglect, discrimination and underfunding that drive unconscionable disparities in how we educate our privileged and our less affluent children. Clearly, education does not exist in a vacuum. We cannot expect schools or teachers alone to solve the immense problems many of our youngest children face in their home lives. Schools are expected to do more and more in an age when we are making it harder for them to do the basic job of educating their students. It seems that teachers have less control over what and how they teach, yet teachers are blamed more than ever for how their students perform on standardized tests. Is it any wonder we have an impending shortage of teachers? Even those who have long dreamed of being teachers may be hesitant to enter the profession as it is currently defined. Is that really what we want? Is that really what our children deserve?
John Dewey once said, “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that we must want for all of the children of the community.” Well, under my administration, we will actually govern that way and foster the kinds of schools where we would all be proud to send our children. We all know the factors that make a school great: excellent teachers who are respected, compensated, and supported This is how Bernie or Hillary wins: The speech that would seal the nomination - Salon.com:
