Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Evening Posts 4-10 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

RheeFirst! » Video: Students and parents from New York to Seattle are fighting corporate education reform agenda

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

RheeFirst! » Video: Students and parents from New York to Seattle are fighting corporate education reform agenda: Video: Students and parents from New York to Seattle are fighting corporate education reform agendabyadminPopoutWritten by Laura Clawson for the DailyKos. Read theentire post here.“Michelle Rhee calls her organization StudentsFirst, a common affectation among corporate-style education reformers, who often like to claim that the tens of millions of dollars they pour into remaking education policy are spent on behalf of students and parents. ... more »

Go to the Movies. Save a Life - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

Go to the Movies. Save a Life - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard: Go to the Movies. Save a LifeApr 10th, 2012byLily.This Friday you need to go to see the movieBully.You need to fill up the minivan, the truck, the car, the bus, walk, run, andjust go to see the movieBully.You need to take your kids and your grand-kids and your nieces and nephews. You need to take the church groups and the Little League team and the chess club ... more »

Out-of-School Suspensions in California’s School Districts Reveal Hidden Crisis — The Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

Out-of-School Suspensions in California’s School Districts Reveal Hidden Crisis — The Civil Rights Project at UCLA: Out-of-School Suspensions in California’s School Districts Reveal Hidden Crisis Los Angeles--A new report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project,Suspended Education in California’s Public Schools,estimates that more than 400,000 students were suspended and removed from classrooms at least one time during the 2009-10 school year in California – enough to fill every seat in all the professional baseball and ... more »

Report spotlights out-of-school suspensions in California - Inside Bay Area

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

Report spotlights out-of-school suspensions in California - Inside Bay Area: Report spotlights out-of-school suspensions in CaliforniaByKaty MurphyOakland TribunePosted: 04/10/2012 10:33:58 AM PDTUpdated: 04/10/2012 10:34:40 AM PDTA new analysis by the Civil Rights Project at UCLA found that California students with disabilities were twice as likely to receive an out-of-school suspension as their non-disabled peers, and African American students were three times as likely as white students to be suspended at least once.In the 2009-10 school year alone, 18 percent of ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts 4-10 #edreform #soschat

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

George Zimmerman Emerges, Endorses Campus Vandalism « Student ActivismBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-13 minutes agoGeorge Zimmerman Emerges, Endorses Campus Vandalism « Student Activism: George Zimmerman Emerges, Endorses Campus VandalismbyAngus JohnstonUtterly bizarre, yet somehow unsurprising.George Zimmerman, the self-proclaimed neighborhood watch leader who shot Trayvon Martin, has made his first public comments since the killing, ona websitehe’s created “to provide an avenue to thank my supporters personally” and solicit funds for legal and living expenses.One pag... more »

Report details Latino education gap in California and nationwide - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

Report details Latino education gap in California and nationwide - latimes.com: Report details Latino education gap in California and nationwideJust 16% of California Latinos have college degrees compared with 39% of all California adults, an education gap for Latinos that is reflected widely across the country, according to data compiled by a nonprofit research and advocacy group.The national and state-by-state data was compiled from various official sources and released Tuesday by Washington, D.C.-basedExcelencia in Education.A focus on education is especially ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Big Schism

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

School Tech Connect: The Big Schism: The Big Schismbynoreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)Dennis Van Roekel doesn't clear his messaging with me, so it will come as no surprise that I find his messaging to be irrelevant, obscure, and ineffective.Here he is over at TPMyammering away about corporate tax loopholes.“President Obama from the first day he started campaigning, he’s been a champion for education,” he said. “I know he will put education at the forefront, and if there’s another place in the budget ... more »

Gates pulls support for ALEC. Gates gave money to ALEC? « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

Gates pulls support for ALEC. Gates gave money to ALEC? « Fred Klonsky: Gates pulls support for ALEC. Gates gave money to ALEC?byFred KlonskyThe campaign to get corporations to divest in the American Legislative Exchange Council took an odd turn today with news that the Gates Foundation would no longer participate in ALEC funding.Who knew?Like moving a rock and finding the bugs scurry.Gates people denyhaving any interest in the normal right-wing anti-labor, stand-and-shoot legislation that ALEC

Gerald E. Sroufe, Politics of Education at the Federal Level | Federal Education Policy History

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 39 minutes ago

Gerald E. Sroufe, Politics of Education at the Federal Level | Federal Education Policy History: Gerald E. Sroufe, Politics of Education at the FederalLevelGerald Sroufe, "Politics of Education at the Federal Level 1994"Why bother studying the federal politics of education? Today, the question seems a little obtuse, what with the recent outpouring of studies on the topic. But when Gerald Sroufe posed the question in 1994, it was not in jest. The federal government supplied six to eight percent of ... more »

Hechinger Report | Teaching software flooding into New Jersey classrooms

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Hechinger Report | Teaching software flooding into New Jersey classrooms: Teaching software flooding into New Jersey classroomsbyJill BarshayStudents in Linda Smolinski's class learn directly from a computer for part of the hour. (Photo courtesy of Asbury Park Board of Education)A computer voice guides Accoo to spell the words he hears through his headphones. Emergency. Bulldozer. Minutes. Accoo gets minutes wrong and is asked to spell that one again, several times. Later, he clicks on a proofreading button.“You check what you ... more »

George Zimmerman Emerges, Endorses Campus Vandalism « Student Activism

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

George Zimmerman Emerges, Endorses Campus Vandalism « Student Activism: George Zimmerman Emerges, Endorses Campus VandalismbyAngus JohnstonUtterly bizarre, yet somehow unsurprising.George Zimmerman, the self-proclaimed neighborhood watch leader who shot Trayvon Martin, has made his first public comments since the killing, ona websitehe’s created “to provide an avenue to thank my supporters personally” and solicit funds for legal and living expenses.One page of that website isa photo album“dedicated to persons whom have displayed their support of Justice forall.” At the time of ...more »

Educators Issue VAM Report for Secretary Duncan - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

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Educators Issue VAM Report for Secretary Duncan - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Educators Issue VAM Report for Secretary DuncanbyAnthony CodyGuest post by Educators for Shared Accountability.A new group, Educators for Shared Accountability (ESA), has issued the first-ever Value-Added Measurement (VAM) evaluation of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Secretary Duncan was rated "ineffective," based on four indicators.The United States Department of Education had adiscretionary budget of $68.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. This amount was up from $64.1 ... more »

The inevitable dark side of ‘school choice’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

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The inevitable dark side of ‘school choice’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: The inevitable dark side of ‘school choice’byValerie StraussThis waswritten by Ann Geiger, who served on the Orange County School Board in Orlando, Fl., from 2004-2008. A native of Virginia, she lives in Arlington and blogs atwww.publicpolicyblogger.com, where this appeared.By Ann GeigerAt first glance,Ross Douthat’s recent column on religionseems unrelated to the reshaping of public education in the United States, but bear with me. Mr. Douthat ... more »

Rethinking the Department of Education | Seattle Education

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Rethinking the Department of Education | Seattle Education: Rethinking the Department of Educationbyseattleducation2011I was challenged last weekend to come up with an idea on how to improve government and I immediately considered the area of education. To follow was my recommendation.The Department of Education was established by President Carter in 1979 and the first Secretary of Education, Shirley Hufstedler, was an attorney and judge. Since then we have had eight Secretaries of Education and only three of those eight individuals ... more »

Report: Funding cuts are eroding the quality of the nation's subsidized preschools - Inside Bay Area

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Report: Funding cuts are eroding the quality of the nation's subsidized preschools - Inside Bay Area: Report: Funding cuts are eroding the quality of the nation's subsidized preschoolsByKaty MurphyOakland TribunePosted: 04/09/2012 09:09:23 PM PDTDespite $127 million in federal stimulus funds, state spending for pre-kindergarten programs dropped by almost $60 million in 2010-11, according to the annual State of Preschool report published by the National Institute for Early Education Research. From 2001 to 2011, spending per child declined by about $700 ... more »

Early Education Faces 'Crisis' As Funding Plummets, Report Says

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Early Education Faces 'Crisis' As Funding Plummets, Report Says: Early Education Faces 'Crisis' As Funding Plummets, Report SaysbyJoy ResmovitsBefore Diamande Montague started preschool, she was the kind of kid who clung to her mother's skirt. When she and her mom went outside and other kids gravitated to each other, she'd hover close to mom. If they were in a doctor's office with a play area and the other kids were helping themselves to books and blocks, Diamande wouldnâ�™t join them.Besides ... more »

Scott Signs Another Expansion of the Voucher Program; Meanwhile a Zephyrhills Private School is Investigated for McCay Abuse | Scathing Purple Musings

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Scott Signs Another Expansion of the Voucher Program; Meanwhile a Zephyrhills Private School is Investigated for McCay Abuse | Scathing Purple Musings: Scott Signs Another Expansion of the Voucher Program; Meanwhile a Zephyrhills Private School is Investigated for McCay AbusebyBob SikesThetax credit scholarshipthat Rick Scott expanded this week is different from the McCay Scholarship plan, but both are taxpayer-funded programs which take money away from public schools. Florida’s policy-makers emerged unscathed fromlast summers’ revelations of wide-spread abuse of the McCay ...more »

Jersey Jazzman: What Research?!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: What Research?!: What Research?!byDukeThis is amazing; Tom Moran of theStar-Ledgerdid it again!Tenure reform, the most important part of this package, is facing stubborn opposition. Democrats won’t kill it outright, but they may weaken it enough to justify a veto by Christie.Research shows that children suffer lasting damage when they have a bad teacher for even one or two years.In urban districts, where more kids are struggling to begin with, the damage is magnified. [emphasis mine]Not even a high ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Sad Tale of Education Reform that Just Creates More Centralized Control

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Missouri Education Watchdog: The Sad Tale of Education Reform that Just Creates More Centralized Control: The Sad Tale of Education Reform that Just Creates More Centralized ControlbystlgretchenI've been in contact with a fellow traveler on the education reform road and he's sent me a couple of items worth reading.The first follows up onwhy your vote does count,as evidenced in Missouri's recent school board elections and razor thin margins for candidates in many townships. He writes with some dismay, about correspondence ... more »

Duncan Democracy? Algiers Charter Schools Association | NOLA.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

3 new board members join Algiers Charter Schools Association | NOLA.com: 3 new board members join Algiers Charter Schools AssociationPublished: Monday, June 28, 2010, 8:45 PM Updated:Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 12:18 AMTheAlgiers Charter Schools Association's board of trustees experienced a changing of the guard last week, withthree members departingand three newcomers taking their places.Susan Poag, The Times-PicayuneStudents from McDonogh 32 Elementary Charter School in Algiers check out a chicken during Agriculture Day in May.Board members Elsie Rose, Donna St. Louis ... more »

ILLINOIS RETIRED TEACHERS AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION « Teachers Fight Back

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ILLINOIS RETIRED TEACHERS AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION « Teachers Fight Back: ILLINOIS RETIRED TEACHERS AND PUBLIC PERCEPTIONbyalkleenThe Chicago Tribune, certain business leaders, anti union forces, and groups like ‘Illinois is Broke”, have done an amazing job at convincing the public that retired teachers and other retired public employees are bankrupting the State of Illinois by getting incredibly lucrative pensions.I recently had three instances where I was with a group of people who were discussing political issues. These people didn’t know I ... more »

Yo El Jefe - Both of Obama's HEAT Jerseys were in the wash - Hispanically Speaking News

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Castro Pokes Fun at Obama's Plan to Wear "Cuban Garment" to Summit - Hispanically Speaking News: Fidel Castro Pokes Fun at President Obama’s Plan to Wear Cuba’s “Official Garment” to SummitPublished at 7:25 pm EST, April 9, 2012Photo: Fidel Castro Pokes Fun at President Obama's Plan to Wear Cuba's "Official Shirt" to SummitClick Here to Enlarge PhotoFidel Castro is poking fun at U.S. President Barack Obama’s plans to sport a guayabera - a tropical shirt that is Cuba’s official garment ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: School closing hearings at John Ericsson JHS and Grover Cleveland HS

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NYC Public School Parents: School closing hearings at John Ericsson JHS and Grover Cleveland HS: School closing hearings at John Ericsson JHS and Grover Cleveland HSbyLeonie HaimsonThe following is by Pat Dobosz, a teacher and a graduate of John Ericson MS 126:On Wednesday, April 4 we attended the closing hearing at John Ericsson MS 126 in Brooklyn. This was a "restart" school that is now becoming a "turnaround" school. This euphemism means it will close, lose 50% of its staff ... more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 26: Over the hump…

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Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 26: Over the hump…: Week 26: Over the hump…byalicemercerThis has been a hard “Spring” in some ways, but easier in others. One part of the “hard” has been the fact that I’m in one of the few local districts that still does a Spring Break aligned with Easter, and this year, that wasn’t until last week. Both students and adults were more than ready for a “time out” by the time that ... more »

More Corporate Entities Drop ALEC | FDL News Desk

More Corporate Entities Drop ALEC | FDL News Desk:

More Corporate Entities Drop ALEC

by David Dayen

McD will no longer sell ALEC with your cheeseburger (Wikipedia)

A coalition trying to force corporations to disassociate from ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a right-wing group responsible for modeling and writing a substantial portion of the bills that come through the Republican side of state legislatures, has notched a couple more victories. First, the Bill and Melinda Gates 

Jersey Jazzman: Christie: More Money's Good For My Kid, But Not Yours!

Jersey Jazzman: Christie: More Money's Good For My Kid, But Not Yours!:

Christie: More Money's Good For My Kid, But Not Yours!

by Duke

Chris Christie, 4/10/12:

The thing that’s stunned me all along about this is that I don’t understand Democrats who are the ones who are predominantly representing these kids and don’t stand up and fight for them. I don’t understand it. Here I am, a Republican living in a suburban district, with an overwhelming majority of my votes coming from rural and suburban voters, who are generally served very well by their public education system, except for cost. And I’m the one fighting, I’m the one delivering every Republican vote in the Legislature, I’m fighting, tooth and nail, with Democrats who are watching the kids in their districts fail. So, I’m going to be talking very directly, in that way about it. And putting it on them. It’s on them now. [emphasis mine]

"...except for cost."

Chris Christie lives in Mendham. If his kids went to the public high school, they would attend Mendham High in 

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event -- Hollywood, FL | The White House

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event -- Hollywood, FL | The White House:

Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event -- Hollywood, FL

by The White House

5:50 P.M. EDT
        THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Florida!  (Applause.)
        AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you!
        THE PRESIDENT:  I love you back.  (Applause.)
        It is good to be back in the Sunshine State.  (Applause.)  Well, there are some folks here I want to acknowledge.  Everybody, have a seat.  Relax.  I've got a few things to say. (Laughter.)  First of all, your own Debbie Wasserman Schultz is in the house.  (Applause.)  Outstanding members of Congress -- Ted Deutch is here.  (Applause.)  Federica Wilson is here.  (Applause.)  Our Florida finance chair, Kirk Wagar is here.  (Applause.)  Broward County finance chair, Andrew Weinstein is here.  (Applause.)
        The outstanding John Legend is in the house.  (Applause.)  John wanted me to sing a duet.  I said no.  (Laughter.)  Not tonight.  But maybe if you practice a little bit -- (laughter.)  And I want to thank Gerri Ann for that wonderful introduction.  Give her a big round of applause as well.  (Applause.)
        Now, I am here not just because the weather is really good. (Laughter.)  I'm not here just because there are a lot of great friends in the audience.  And I'm not even here just because I need your help.  I’m here because your country needs your help.  (Applause.)  A lot of you got involved in this campaign back in 2008.  Some of you worked your hearts out.  It wasn’t, by the way, because you thought it was going to be easy.  When you support a guy named Barack Hussein Obama for President -- (laughter) -- you're not looking at the odds makers.  You don't need a poll to know that's not a sure thing.  (Laughter.)
        You didn’t join the campaign just because of me.  This wasn’t just about a candidate; this was about a vision that we shared for America -- a vision that all of you shared.  It wasn’t a vision where people are left to fend for themselves, and the most powerful can play by their own rules.  It was a vision of America where everybody works hard, everybody is responsible, and everybody has a chance to get ahead -- not just those at the very top.  The notion that no matter where you come from, what you look like, what your last name is -- black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled or not -- it doesn’t matter, you've got a shot at the American Dream.  (Applause.)

        That’s the vision we shared.  That’s the change that we believed in.  And we knew it wasn’t going to come easy.  We knew it wouldn’t come quickly.  But we had confidence and faith in the American people and our capacity to bring about an America that was moving closer to our ideals.  And you know what, in just a little over three years, because of what you did in 2008, we've started to see what change looks like.
        Change is the first bill I signed into law that says women deserve an equal day’s pay for an equal day’s work.  (Applause.) Our daughters should have the same opportunities as our sons.  (Applause.)  You made that happen. 
        Change is the decisions that we made to help prevent a second Great Depression -- to rescue the American auto industry from collapse, even when some politicians were out there saying we should let Detroit go bankrupt.  We had a million jobs on the line if we had let that happen.  And I wasn’t going to let that happen.  And today, GM is back on top as the world’s number one automaker -- (applause) -- making record profits, hiring back workers.  More than 200,000 new jobs over the last two and a half years in the American auto industry.  It is coming back.  That happened because of you.  (Applause.) 
        Change is the decision we made to stop waiting for Congress to do something about our oil addiction.  We doubled fuel-efficiency standards on cars and trucks.  And by the middle of the next decade, we’re going to be driving American-made cars that get almost 55 miles to a gallon, saves the typical family $8,000 at the pump.  (Applause.)  That happened because of you.  
        We decided let's stop handing out $60 billion in taxpayer giveaways to banks that were managing the student loan program, let's give the money directly to students.  (Applause.)  And because of you, millions of young people have gotten help affording college and being able to compete in this 21st century economy.  That happened because of your work back in 2008 and beyond.
        Yes, change is health care reform that we passed after a century of trying -- (applause) -- reform that says in the United States of America, the greatest country on Earth, nobody should go broke because they get sick.  (Applause.)  And because of that law, right now 2.5 million young people have health insurance that didn't have it before because they can stay on their parent's plans.  (Applause.)
        Right now, millions of seniors are paying less for their prescription drugs.  Right now, every American has the assurance that they can't be denied coverage or dropped by their insurance company when they need care the most.  And they can get preventive care, regardless of who they are, regardless of where you come from.  That's what change is.  That happened because of you.
        Change is the fact that for the first time in our history you don't have to hide who you love to serve the country you love because we ended "don't ask, don't tell."   (Applause.)  It’s over.
        And change is keeping another promise I made in 2008 -- for the first time in nine years there are no Americans fighting in Iraq.  We’ve refocused our efforts on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11.  (Applause.)  And because of our brave men and women, al Qaeda is back on its heels and Osama bin Laden is no more.  That's what change is.  (Applause.)
        Now, we’ve --
        AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!
        THE PRESIDENT:  It’s actually four and a half.  (Laughter.)
        And we’ve begun to transition in Afghanistan to put Afghans in the lead, bring our troops home.  (Applause.) 
        Record investments in clean energy.  Record investments in education.  Restoring science to its rightful place.  Well, none of this has been easy.  And everybody here knows we’ve got a lot more work to do.  There are still so many Americans out there that are still looking for work or trying to find a job that pays a little more, too many families who are barely able to pay the bills, homes underwater.  We’re still recovering from the worst economic crisis in generations.
        But even on the economic front, over these last two years, we’ve seen businesses add more than 4 million new jobs, manufacturers creating jobs for the first time since the 1990s.  The economy is getting stronger.  The recovery is accelerating. And the last thing we can afford to do right now is to go back to the same, worn-out, tired, uninspired, don’t-work policies that got us into this mess in the first place.  (Applause.)
        But, of course, that’s exactly what the other side wants to do.  They make no bones about it.  They don’t make -- they don’t hide the ball.  They want to go back to the days when Wall Street could play by its own rules.  They’ve said, we want to roll back all the reforms that were put in place to protect consumers and make sure that we don’t end up seeing taxpayer bailouts again.  They want to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny you coverage or jack up premiums without reason.  They want to spend trillions of dollars more on tax breaks for the very wealthiest of Americans, even if it means adding to the deficit, even if it means gutting things like education or clean energy or Medicare.
        Their philosophy is simple:  If we just let those who have done best keep on doing what they do, and everybody else is struggling to get by, somehow that’s going to grow the economy.
        They’re wrong.  (Applause.)  In the United States of America we are greater together than we are on our own.  We are better off when we keep that basic American promise:  If you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, put a little away for retirement.
        And that’s the choice in this election.  This is not just your run-of-the-mill political debate.  We have not seen a contrast like this in a long time.  This is the defining issue of our time, this make-or-break moment for our middle class and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class.  And are we going to stand with those folks who have been the backbone of economic growth in this country throughout our history?
        We could go back to an economy built on outsourcing and bad debt and phony financial profits.  Or we can fight for an economy that’s built to last -- an economy built on American manufacturing, and American energy, and skills for American workers -- (applause) -- and the values of everyday Americans of hard work and fair play and shared responsibility.  (Applause.)
        And I know what side I am in that debate.  I know what side I'm on in that debate.  I think we've got to make sure that the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in Asia, not in Europe -- takes root right here in the United States of America; right here in Florida, in Detroit, in Pittsburgh, in Cleveland.  (Applause.)  I don’t want this nation just to be known for what we buy and consume.  I want us to be a nation known for what we produce and invent and sell all around the world.  It's time to stop rewarding businesses that are shipping jobs overseas.  Let's reward companies that are investing right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)
        Let's make our schools the envy of the world.  (Applause.)  And that starts, by the way, with the men and women at the front of the classroom.  You know, a good teacher can actually increase the lifetime earnings of a classroom by $250,000.  A great teacher can inspire and plant that seed of possibility in a child, no matter how poor they are.  (Applause.)
        And that's why I don't like hearing folks just bashing teachers.  (Applause.)  I don't want them -- I don't believe in just defending the status quo.  I want schools to have the resources they need to keep good teachers on the job.  Reward the best ones.  Give schools the flexibility to teach with creativity and passion.  Stop teaching to the test.  Give us a chance to train teachers that aren’t doing a great job, get rid of those who are [sic] -- we can create accountability in the system, and high standards, but we’ve got to make sure that we’re thinking about our kids first.
        And when kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge ends up being the cost of college.  Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt right now, which means, by the way, Congress needs to stop the student interest -- the interest rates on student loans from doubling, which is scheduled to happen in July.
        And colleges and universities have to do their part.  They’ve got to keep tuition from going up.  And state legislatures need to keep their part by supporting higher education.  (Applause.)  This is not a luxury higher education; it is an economic imperative that every American should be able to afford.
        An economy built to last is one where we support scientists and researchers that are trying to make the next breakthrough happen right here in the United States in biotech and nanotechnology and clean energy.
        We’ve subsidized oil companies for a hundred years.  It’s time to end the hundred years of taxpayer giveaways for an industry that is plenty profitable, doing just fine, have more than enough incentive to keep on producing.  Let’s give it to clean energy industries that have never been more promising -- solar and wind and biodiesel.  (Applause.)
        Let’s rebuild America.  I think about what was built in my grandparents’ generation -- Hoover Dam, Golden Gate Bridge, the Interstate Highway System.  We’ve got to give our businesses the best access to the best roads and the best airports and the fastest railroads, faster Internet access.  It’s time for us to take some of that money that we spent on war, use half of it to pay down our debt, use the rest of it to do some nation-building here at home.  (Applause.)  We can put folks back to work right now rebuilding America.  (Applause.)
        (Lights flicker on and off.)  Is there a little light show going on here?  (Laughter.)  It’s nice.  (Laughter.)  Sort of a  -- it’s a disco rally.  (Laughter.)  Somebody going to pull the roller skates out now?  (Laughter.)  What’s going on here?
        And finally, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a tax system that reflects everybody doing their fair share.  I just spoke about this earlier today.  We have to reduce our deficit.  It’s a long-term challenge.  And we’ve got to do it in a balanced way.  We’ve made some very tough spending cuts.  We’re going to have to make some smart choices in terms of health reform.  That’s what’s driving a lot of increased government spending.
        We’ve also got to make sure that revenues are there to pay for the things that are absolutely necessary for us to grow our economy, to maintain a basic safety net for our seniors and folks who are vulnerable.
        Now, the other side, they’ve got a different idea.  They want to decimate basic government investments that historically have helped this economy grow, and use it to finance tax cuts for the very wealthiest.  And I’ve got a different idea.  I say, let’s follow what we call the Buffett Rule.  If you make more than a million dollars a year -- I’m not saying you’ve got a million dollar nest egg that you accumulated over the course of years saving for your retirement.  I’m saying if you make a million dollars a year, then you shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than your secretary.  (Applause.)  That’s common sense.  That’s not -- they may call in class envy or -- that’s just being fair. And by doing that, that also allows us then to say to folks who are making $250,000 a year or less -- like 98 percent of American families -- that their taxes don’t go up.  (Applause.)
        This is not class warfare.  This is not about envy.  We want Americans to be wealthy.  We want them to be successful.  But this is just basic math.  Because if somebody like me, who is doing just fine, gets tax breaks I don’t need and that the country can’t afford, then one of two things is going to happen: Either it gets added to our deficit -- now, the other side say they care about the deficit; well, these tax cuts add to the deficit -- or, alternatively, you've got to take it away from somebody else -- a student who's trying to pay for their college, or a senior trying to get by with Social Security and Medicare, or a veteran who needs some care after he or she has served this country with distinction, or a family that’s just trying to get by.  That’s not right.  That’s not who we are. 
        You know, when I hear politicians during an election year talk about values -- well, what kind of values does that reflect? Hard work -- that’s a value.  Responsibility -- that’s a value.  Honesty, looking out for one another -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper -- that’s a value.  (Applause.)  Our budget should reflect those values.  Our politics should reflect those values.
        Everybody here -- look at this room, people from every conceivable background, every part of the country -- everybody here, you're here because somebody, somewhere felt some responsibility not just for themselves, but for others.  It started with your parents, grandparents -- some may have come to this country with nothing but wanted more opportunity for their kids.  (Applause.)  They worked on behalf of their family.  They worked on behalf of their neighborhoods, their community.  They worked on behalf of their country.  They understood that the American story is not about just what you can do on your own.  We’re rugged individualists.  We expect everybody to carry their own weight.  But we also understand that what makes us great is what we can do together.
        We won’t win the race for new jobs and businesses, we won’t restore middle-class security with the same old you’re-on-your-own economics.  It doesn’t work.  It never worked.  We tried it before the Great Depression, back in the ‘20s -- didn’t work.  We tried it in the last decade.  We were promised how this was going to unleash all this unbelievable economic growth.  And what ended up happening?  Sluggish job growth, wages and incomes flat-lined for middle-class families struggling to get by, and then culminated in the worst financial crisis we’ve seen since the 1930s.  We tried it.  Their theories don’t work.
        And most people understand this.  They understand there’s a different way to think about the economy and this journey we’re on together.  It says we’ve got a stake in each other’s success. If we attract an outstanding teacher to the profession by paying them properly, by giving them the training they need, the professional development, and that teacher goes on to educate the next Steve Jobs, well, you know what -- we all benefit.  If we provide faster Internet to rural America and then suddenly some storeowner has access to a global market and they’re selling goods and services and growing that business and hiring -- that’s good for all of us.  If we build a bridge that cuts on commuting times and suddenly that shipping company is saving time and money, workers and customers -- the country does better.
        And this is not historically a Democratic or Republican idea.  It was Republican Teddy Roosevelt who called for a progressive income tax.  Dwight Eisenhower, Republican, built the Interstate Highway System.  It was, with the help of Republicans in Congress, FDR who gave millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, a chance to get ahead through the GI Bill.  Abraham Lincoln, first Republican President, helped to bind this country together through the Transcontinental Railroad, started the land-grant colleges, National Academy of Sciences.  This is not just a Democratic idea.
        And here’s the good news:  That spirit of common purpose, it still exists all across this country.  Maybe not in Washington.  (Laughter and applause.)  But out in America, it’s there.  It’s there when you talk to folks on Main Street, in town halls.  It’s there when you talk to our unbelievable members of our armed forces.  It’s there when you go to places of worship.
        Our politics may be divided, but most Americans understand that we’re greater together than we are apart, and that no matter where we come from, who we are, we rise or fall as one nation.  (Applause.)  That’s what’s at stake in this election.  
        I know this has been a tough few years for America.  We’ve seen a lot of stuff in these last three years, and I know that the change we fought for in 2008, as much as we’ve gotten done, we’ve got so much more to do.  And there are times when change just doesn’t come fast enough.  I don’t watch some of these cable news shows and all this sniping, but I imagine if you're sitting back, or, lord knows if you live in a swing state and you're watching these negative ads and -- at a certain point, you must just step back and sort of say, maybe this change we believed in, maybe it's just not possible.  It's tempting to be cynical and say you know what, this just is too hard.
        So I'm here to remind you, I didn’t say it was going to be easy.  I told you real change -- big change -- takes time.  These problems didn’t build up overnight and they're not going to be solved overnight.  It will take more than a single term, more than a single President.  (Applause.)  What it takes is ordinary citizens.  It takes folks like you who are committed to this larger project of making sure that America is constantly moving closer and closer to its highest ideals.
        Back in 2008, I used to tell you, I'm not a perfect man, I will never be a perfect President.  But I made a promise to everybody.  I said, I will always tell you what I think, I'll tell you where I stand.  And I told you I would wake up every single day fighting for you as hard as I know how.  (Applause.)  And I have kept that promise.  I've kept that promise.  (Applause.) 
        And so if you’re willing to stick with me on this thing, if you're willing to keep pushing through the obstacles, and knocking on doors, and making phone calls, and fighting for what is right, if you're willing to work even harder than we did in 2008, we will finish what we started.  (Applause.)  And we will remind the world just why it is that America is the greatest nation on Earth.
        God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)