Saturday, November 1, 2008
Jay Mathews lays out the education realities
Post columnist does a nice job here laying out where the next President will take education. I think he's right. I might have put a little more emphasis on preschool and charter schools and less emphasis on reviving NCLB. I'm guessing flat federal budgets for education, which will force everyone to sharpen priorities.
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Education. It has always been an important issue during presidential elections. Most people, especially people with children, list it among their biggest priorities. Yet, this year, debates, campaign ads and media coverage have all focused much more on issues like the economy and the war, instead of on education.
One article on the Columbia Journalism Review Web site said that education needed “promotional help” if it were going to become an important campaign issue. The article pointed out that groups like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have launched campaigns to garner more media and public attention for education issues.
After all, the war and the economy are important, but education is an area that, in theory, affects every person and every other aspect of life. Would anyone know how to deal with the economic crisis if there were no education?
Do a Google search. Most of the education-related articles that come up were sponsored by pro-education organizations, not by mainstream media.
Search CNN or the New York Times. It’s possible to find each candidate’s stance on education, but the available information is very limited. The Washington Post column mentioned in this article is a rare example of education in the media. But why isn’t it on the front page?
Look on the blogs. It’s easy to find blogs from various education associations but there hasn’t been anything education-related on the Daily Kos in weeks. Most of the blogs about education have no comments. Blogs about Sarah Palin’s wardrobe spending had hundreds.
To say that people don’t care about education would be an untruth. Education is certainly at the forefront of many parents’, grandparents’ and students’ minds as they prepare to enter voting booths on Tuesday. The question is whether the media has provided them with enough information to make an informed choice about an extremely important issue. If you ask me, the answer is no, and most of the public needs to be educated about the importance of education.
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