As one of those bedrock principals I hold dear, this is a huge issue for me in the election. I cannot fathom why, as man who started on the ground with all of his community organizing, he cannot break out and endorse this.

It helps people he was close to and speaks to one of is bedrock principals of self help and education as to people at the bottom getting the hand up they need to move forward. He flirted with endorsing school choice but since has given it the thumbs down. I just don't get it.
If its just the fact that he needs the NEA et al, then to me that’s almost unforgivable, money isn’t the answer ( only in that more of it goes to public schools, “money” would help in other ways ala vouchers) and he above all should know that. He certainly won't send his kids to public school will he?


The Greatest Scandal
July 28, 2008; Page A14
The profound failure of inner-city public schools to teach children may be the nation's greatest scandal. The differences between the two Presidential candidates on this could hardly be more stark. John McCain is calling for alternatives to the system; Barack Obama wants the kids to stay within that system. We think the facts support Senator McCain.

"Parents ask only for schools that are safe, teachers who are competent and diplomas that open doors of opportunity," said Mr. McCain in remarks recently to the NAACP. "When a public system fails, repeatedly, to meet these minimal objectives, parents ask only for a choice in the education of their children." Some parents may opt for a better public school or a charter school; others for a private school. The point, said the Senator, is that "no entrenched bureaucracy or union should deny parents that choice and children that opportunity."

Mr. McCain cited the Washington, D.C., Opportunity Scholarship Program, a federally financed school-choice program for disadvantaged kids signed into law by President Bush in 2004. Qualifying families in the District of Columbia receive up to $7,500 a year to attend private K-12 schools. To qualify, a child must live in a family with a household income below 185% of the poverty level. Some 1,900 children participate; 99% are black or Hispanic. Average annual income is just over $22,000 for a family of four.

A recent Department of Education report found nearly 90% of participants in the D.C. program have higher reading scores than peers who didn't receive a scholarship. There are five applicants for every opening.

Mr. McCain could have mentioned EdisonLearning, a private company that took over 20 of Philadelphia's 45 lowest performing district schools in 2002 to create a new management model for public schools. The most recent state test-score data show that student performance at Philadelphia public schools managed by Edison and other outside providers has improved by nearly twice the amount as the schools run by the district.

The number of students performing at grade level or higher in reading at the schools managed by private providers increased by 6.1% overall compared to 3.3% in district-managed schools. In math, the results for Edison and other outside managers was 4.6% and 6.0%, respectively, compared to 3.1% in the district-run schools.

The state of California just announced that one in three students in the Los Angeles public school system drops out before graduating. Among black and Latino students in L.A. district schools, the numbers are 42% and 30%. In the past five years, the number of dropouts has grown by more than 80%. The number of high school graduates has gone up only 9%.

The silver linings in these dismal clouds are L.A.'s charter high schools. Writing in the Los Angeles Daily News last week, Caprice Young, who heads the California Charter Schools Association, noted that "every charter high school in Los Angeles Unified last year reported a dropout rate significantly lower than not only the school district's average, but the state's as well."

On recent evidence, the Democrat Party's policy on these alternatives is simply massive opposition.

Congressional Democrats have refused to reauthorize the D.C. voucher program and are threatening to kill it. Last month, Philadelphia's school reform commission voted to seize six schools from outside managers, including four from Edison. In L.A., local school board members oppose the expansion of charters even though seven in 10 charters in the district outperform their neighborhood peers.

It's well known that the force calling the Democratic tune here is the teachers unions. Earlier this month, Senator Obama accepted the endorsement of the National Education Association, the largest teachers union. Speaking recently before the American Federation of Teachers, he described the alternative efforts as "tired rhetoric about vouchers and school choice."

Mr. Obama told an interviewer recently that he opposes school choice because, "although it might benefit some kids at the top, what you're going to do is leave a lot of kids at the bottom." The Illinois Senator has it exactly backward. Those at the top don't need voucher programs and they already exercise school choice. They can afford exclusive private schools, or they can afford to live in a neighborhood with decent public schools. The point of providing educational options is to extend this freedom to the "kids at the bottom."

A visitor to Mr. Obama's Web site finds plenty of information about his plans to fix public education in this country. Everyone knows this is a long, hard slog, but Mr. Obama and his wife aren't waiting. Their daughters attend the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where annual tuition ranges from $15,528 for kindergarten to $20,445 for high school.

When the day arrives that these two candidates face off, we hope Senator McCain comes prepared to press his opponent hard on change, hope and choice in the schools.



The Greatest Scandal - WSJ.com

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Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

H. L. Mencken


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Simple. Teacher Unions.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Great moments in Oratory: "uh" B.H.Obama

Yeah, didn't he make a speech blaming the problems in American public schools on the parents of the students, and basically rimming the teachers (some of whom must be bad)? That seems a little counterproductive.

And parents are a big part of the problem but you can't legislate good parenting.

But the problem with anti-voucher folks is that they are more than willing to throw those parents who are NOT part of the problem under the bus.

I can understand that teachers don't want to be left with only the least motivated kids but there is nothing stopping them from going to work at the new schools that would mushroom where the motivated kids would flock to.

Of course that would leave the weaker teachers with the unmotivated kids. Just a matter of time before those kids never even bother with school and then they're all on the street.

__________________
Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Great moments in Oratory: "uh" B.H.Obama

This is another wedge issue.
Based on the hopelessly misguided notion, that taking money away from inner city schools is going to make them better.

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

This is another wedge issue.
Based on the hopelessly misguided notion, that the government and not the parents should dictate every child's eduction.

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De duobus malis, minus est semper eligendum

uh then I suggest you read the article again, but the wsj is “ideologically” biased as you say, those nasty republican bastards fighting for inner city kids to get sent to a school with discipline and they learn in, and that these very same politicians send their kids to is to much, what can I say? Lets just give them more money right?

clue- competition will make them better and I have posted links sowing such studies by non partisan grps. that say so.......

letting these kids languish because we are afraid of public schools losing some funding means squat to me, we have been throwing money at this issue for decades and its gets WORSE, what MORE proof do you need?
They refuse to run honest audits, they have not the foggiest idea where a third of the money goes, and they know it, every damn year after year after year. Everyone else can be held accountable and a set of standards created as to measure efficiency etc. but no not the NEA, never, they will NOT allow it.....BS.

What happened to change?

__________________
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

H. L. Mencken


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

But throwing money at inner city schools has made them so much better? Do I really need to point out that if that was the case, no one would be considering this alternative?

Yeah, those inner city schools have such large budgets they just don't know what to do with all that money.

Taking money away from them would make them much better.

Hows this for an idea, instead of the federal government telling the local schools how to spend their money. The Federal government could institute a choice program, and pay for it, kids could opt out of the local school, and the feds would pay to send them to another school.
All we'd need to do is raise the top income tax rate 1%.

__________________
“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

Raise another tax on folks already paying 90 of the taxes? Yea, typical cop out , it never the disease with you leftys its always the symptom, schools suck bus white kids in, make them share the pain, don’t bother fixing the school, no, we need the NEA campaign money and vote….what friggin ever.

You know goober I have made this point on this forum like 6 times, but it always seems someone needs to be told again because its unpleasant and does not fit in with your throw money at the problem mantra,.
The MONEY- 35% comes from the school district apportionment per pupil; the other 65% comes form the feds.


Ipso the district holds onto 65% of the funds for a student they are no longer educating or that is in their system……gee maybe we should foot the whiole bill and not make them cough up anything at all right?
So, the taxpayer can foot the bill entirely for private schools for inner city kids who have no public school system that fulfills their mandate- educate. Yea thats it, hey maybe we ought to just pay them and tell them go and out all the kids in private school? How that, they aren’t doing there jobs but yet you fight to throw billions of dollars at them…….

And so what? Even if it were a 100? It appears your idea is , well we keep funding the results don’t count. Shut up, and send more money, no audits, no accountability zip….does that sound rationale to you?

What happened to all the lib save the children the republicans are bunch of money mad monsters pabulum? You don’t want black kids to get an education? Thats what it amounts too.

In another thread you made statement re: the money spent on a huge inefficient military….right? At least they do their jobs, so on one hand you are for throwing over one agency based on YOUR view of inefficiency and lack of necessity but not this one, who is far more inefficient and it appears to me, when it comes to inner city school system is no longer doing their job and in then end is no longer necessary either.

Your party is completely out to lunch on this and whats more its venal and completely at odds with your BS “party of the people” platform…keep’em dumb, they’ll vote for us for ever…..simple enough ….

__________________
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

H. L. Mencken


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

Or we could just give them vouchers from the money already allocated. Actually its only the portion thats actually spent on the child thats behind the voucher program.

__________________
Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Great moments in Oratory: "uh" B.H.Obama

There is no evidence that a voucher program benefits any student.

This is not about teacher's unions. This is about an attempt to redistribute even more money away from the education of the children that need it the most.

__________________
When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

sure there is

__________________
Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Great moments in Oratory: "uh" B.H.Obama

uhm your comment makes zero sense.....the students that need it most ARE getting to charter and private schools...hello.....read and argue with the article, because your statement is contravention to the stats listed...or come up with an idea, because all I hear is no no no and every year the kid’s drop out and get shoved ahead to another grade sans the required education for such.....

so what’s the answer?

I am open to anything but the status quo.

__________________
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.

H. L. Mencken


Mortgage Backed Security survivor

The Herbert Hoover Institution?

Uh, try again.