(We received two more submissions from Biden and Richardson today, so I'm bumping this. Have at it! - promoted by Dean Barker)
So, most people don't know this, but in my other, non-political life I'm an edublogger. And probably very far out of the mainstream at that. (watch that slide presentation on my front page BTW -- it's good for your soul).
So it's with pleasure that announce our straw poll this week is on education. It's also with a little sadness, because I feel so much of the debate is tangential to the rethinking of what education in a networked world should look like, free of the edu_protectionism that suffuses the current model.
But that said, I'm still very happy with the current crop of answers from our candidates. We're missing a couple, but the level of detail in these answers in in the spirit of the poll.
So once again, the rules:
1) 200 words or less
2) Starts with either the phrase "I am the only candidate who" or "Unlike Candidates X, Y, and Z, I" (must be at least three candidates you differ from).
3) Must contain a policy point in the first sentence.
And the answers, in the order received:
From Kucinich:
I am the only candidate to introduce a bill calling for Universal Pre-Kindergarten. In the 107th and 108th Congresses, I introduced legislation to create a free and voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 3- to 5-year-old children. The most critical cognitive development occurs in the years from birth to age 3 and education must emphasize creative and
critical thinking, not just test taking. I support a substantial reinvestment in the infrastructure of our nation's public schools by cutting the bloated Pentagon budget by 15%. For grades K through 12, my priorities are based on the bedrock principle of a free and high quality public education for every child. I co-sponsored the Better Classroom Act and the Expand and Build America's Schools Act, two bills to help communities make needed school repairs and expansions. HR 935 is the most comprehensive child care and education bill in the U.S. Congress to improve a child's well-being
and education in America. I support additional funding for teacher training and full funding of Special Education. I have proposed a tuition-free higher education to millions of students in state universities. We cannot improve education by draining funding from our public schools, students paying the tax cuts for the wealthy hurt all Americans, education is the only solution proven to reduce poverty levels.
From Dodd:
"I am the only candidate to offer a comprehensive proposal to reform No Child Left Behind, which every parent recognizes the next President must fix immediately.
"As the author of the No Child Left Behind Reform Act, I understand that keeping America strong and competitive starts with our public schools. In my Administration, schools will have the flexibility to measure student improvement in ways other than test scores. I will ensure schools that need improvement get the resources they need and can target them to students that need them most. I will support teachers. No high school science teacher will be required to hold degrees in biology, chemistry and physics to be considered qualified.
"Next week, I will unveil an ambitious education plan in New Hampshire, from pre-K to college. With college affordability critical to ensuring a vibrant middle class, my plan will also include a proposal to reduce the skyrocketing cost of tuition and fix our broken student loan system.
"I've spent my entire career finding innovative ways to improve education-from Head Start to college-and bringing people together to turn those ideas into law. This is the kind of leadership I will bring to the White House."
From Edwards:
I am the only candidate with a proven plan -- that I call College for Everyone to pay for one year of public-college tuition, fees, and books for every young person in America willing to work hard and stay out of trouble. Students will be required to work part-time in college, take a college-prep curriculum in high school, and stay out of trouble. College has never been more important, and College for Everyone will help make college more affordable for 2 million students every year. I was the first person in my family to go to college -- I worked my way through school and it didn?t hurt me a bit. To prove that the concept works, I helped start a College for Everyone pilot program at Greene Central High School in eastern North Carolina that has helped lifted college-going rates from 54 percent to 74 percent today.
To make sure every child is prepared to go to college, I will strengthen our K-12 system by expanding pre-school, paying teachers more to work in hard-to-staff schools and subjects, strengthening high school curricula and creating "second chance schools" to lift up former dropouts.
From Obama:
I am the only candidate who will work with parents and teachers to break through the political stalemate in Washington and improve our education system for the 21st century. For too long, our politics has been stuck in a cycle where we praise our educators in speeches and photo-ops, but abandon them when it comes time to offer the resources and the support they need to do their jobs. Too often our leaders present this issue as an either/or debate, divided between giving our schools more funding or demanding more accountability. I believe we have to do both. But I also believe that before we can hold our teachers accountable for the results our schools need, we have to hold ourselves accountable for giving teachers the support that they need. Fixing No Child Left Behind is only the beginning. We can find new ways to increase pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. I introduced the Innovation Districts for School Improvement Act to encourage local school districts to try new ways to improve student success that can be replicated in other school districts. I will raise salaries for teachers across the board. High-performing teachers, in-demand math and science teachers, and those teachers who take on new responsibilities, such as mentoring new teachers, will be eligible for pay increases beyond their base salary. I believe our education system can't be based on luck. We need to make sure that students everywhere have the opportunity to have a top-quality education.
Two Thursday Updates by Dean:
From Biden:
I am the only candidate with a plan to fully cover the average cost of tuition at a two-year public college and cover more than half the average cost of tuition at a public four-year college. Rising costs are putting college out of reach for more and more Americans - it is estimated that in the next decade nearly 2 million qualified students won't be able to afford to go. We must do more for our students. My College ACCESS plan would provide a $3,000 refundable tax credit - equivalent to a $12,000 deduction - so that a family paying the nearly $6,000 in tuition at Plymouth State will get back more than half of that investment through the $3,000 ACCESS refund. My ACCESS plan would also increase Pell Grants to $6,300 which, together with the ACCESS refund, will guarantee low-income students up to $9,300 towards college each year.
From Richardson:
I am the only candidate who is consistently raising education issues in this campaign. I am the only candidate who consistently talks about abolishing No Child Left Behind and instituting a minimum wage for teachers, as I did in my speech before the NEA. And I am the only candidate proposing innovative ideas like emphasizing art education to unlock the minds of our young people at an early age and help them achieve their full potential. Furthermore, I am the only candidate who has actually done this sort of thing before. In New Mexico, we banned junk food in schools, improved access to physical education and instituted a healthy breakfast program, because no child should come to school hungry. We raised teacher salaries from 46th in the nation to 29th, and increased the number of "highly-qualified" teachers. And I signed legislation that expanded full-day kindergarten and made Pre-Kindergarten available for thousands of four-year-olds across the state. As president, I will continue to be a champion for quality education, because our kids deserve the best.
As President Hillary Clinton will make education a priority and fight to improve the quality of every child's education, from preschool through college. For the past 35 years, she has fought to raise educational standards and expand the pool of outstanding teachers across the country. Hillary believes that we should help all students, all educators and all schools meet the highest possible standards in a way that improves teaching and learning. She has said we need to create an assessment system that puts learning not memorizing front and center. She is proud of our public schools and strongly opposes vouchers, which divert limited resources from our public school systems. An example of Hillary's innovative thinking on education is her proposal to provide $10 billion in funding for quality pre-kindergarten to every four-year-old child to ensure they are ready to learn when they start school. Check out our NH website to read more about why Karen McDonough, a high school English teacher and the former President of NEA-New Hampshire, endorsed Hillary just last week and to read more about Hillary?s education proposals: http://www.hillarycl...
So, as you notice, Clinton submitted a non-standard answer again, which once again puts us in a bind, because we want to be fair to the other candidates, but we also want people to see Clinton's answer so they can compare. And they aren't necessarily trying to trick us here, they've told me beforehand this is the closest to our format they can provide. And they do meet the policy focus and the word limit -- but refuse to draw distinctions between Senator Clinton and others.
So since I'm a wuss, I leave it to you guys -- the poll this week isn't on the statements, it's on our method here. And it's multivote, so select all options you feel are legit.
But please engage in a vigorous debate about education in the comments -- it will warm my cold, cold, heart.
