December 28th, 2007
Election 2008: Why Is No One Talking About Education?
Have you been listening to discussions in Election 2008? If you have, then your ears are probably still ringing with the deafening silence over education. The media seems to only be talking about immigration, Iraq, and health care. I’m not lessening the importance of those issues, but given that education costs are increasing and that we’re falling behind in educating our workforce, I’d like to hear more discussion about education.
The Hoover Institute offers a Republican perspective and a Democratic point-of-view on what the education focus in 2008 politics should be. The Democratic perspective suggests creating a national strategy based on attracting the best teachers, developing a better culture of learning in public schools, and beginning education before kindergarten with pre-schools. The Republic perspective promotes staying the course with No Child Left Behind and iterating further upon what has been learned. Additionally, work on reforming the education system to align with consistent national standards should be a priority, and doing this should all be done while controlling spending.
However, I think that bigger philosophical and structural issues are being overlooked. If students aren’t achieving, perhaps the subject matter doesn’t speak to the reality of their situation. I think school prepares you for more school instead of preparing you for the workforce. Perhaps a stronger national emphasis on vocational education and certifications could be a solution to engage with more of the populace. College is really important, but so is developing an able blue-collar workforce to build and maintain buildings, HVAC, and more. Let’s be realistic, education isn’t synonymous with being prepared for and going to a four-year liberal arts college. Medical coders are just as needed as doctors, and both need the right kinds of education. I suppose I’m simply arguing against the one-size fits all education system, but I think that candidates should think more in terms of school systems that can better reflect the needs of the people and the work world.
I’m just warming up on this topic and will get into each candidate’s viewpoints in the coming weeks, but I’d love to hear what you think candidates should do to improve our education system.
I think you make an excellent point, PP. Education has definitely taken a back burner in the 2008 election, with topics such as Iraq and immigration serving as the main course for snarky debates between the candidates (both within and across party lines). And while these topics are important, they clearly take center-stage at the expense of other significant issues.
Why?
The media, for one.
In its Election Guide 2008, The New York Times recently published an article http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/index.html#/context=index/issue=health outlining each major candidate’s views on six issues: health care, abortion, climate change, immigration, Iraq, and Iran.
Isn’t something missing?
If there’s one thing you don’t need a high-priced analyst to tell you, it’s that our education system is not living up to expectations. And whether you subscribe to the Republican ‘No Child Left Behind’ mantra, or the Democrats call for ‘more funding and more talented teachers,’ it’s clear that something must be done. But how can we expect significant (and quality) change to take place when education is viewed by MANY as a minor issue?
For those of you who like math, let’s see if I can provide a clear, concise answer:
Education ≠ Headlines, yet Headlines = Exposure, Exposure = Votes, Votes = Presidency. Therefore, Education ≠ Presidency.
Sound too simplistic and naïve? Perhaps, but we’ll see if anyone talks about education before November.
Comment by J. Watson — January 3, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
Watson is right—at least according to media polls. education is usually in the middle of the list of issues important to voters although sometimes I think that if the questions were asked in a different way, education would get more priority. Somehow, it doesn’t seem as immediate as the economy or the Iraq occupation. I have noticed Obama and Edwards spending significant time in their stump speeches on education so its clearly important to them and to voters.
Comment by redhead — January 7, 2008 @ 6:07 am
This election year is young yet, although I think most of the candidates have been running for 6 months to a year already, god bless them. I wonder if education will re-assert itself as an issue down the road. The struggles in the economy and the latest numbers suggesting a 5% unemployment rate may spur some of the discussions back towards more domestic issues. Education may be one of them.
Yeah, Watson, kids reading and doing math at school don’t make the highlight reel quite as often as the latest suicide bomber. In a way, the American focus on foreign policy is a dramatic shift in the country’s awareness, which is not an all bad thing. Paying attention to what’s going on globally especially as we all become more interconnected through the Internet and our economies is going to be crucial for long-term economic success. And precisely because of that interconnectedness, we’re going to need to focus on education to succeed on the new playing field.
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