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Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 7497
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 12:24 pm: | 
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Obama’s Education Plan Includes More Funds for Charter Schools, More Accountability
Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008
By: Michael H. Cottman
Barack Obama offered a detailed plan for education reform Tuesday and outlined ideas to modernize buildings, increase technology in classrooms, double funding for charter schools and help uplift students of color moving into the 21st century.
Speaking in Dayton, Ohio, at Stebbins High School, the Democratic presidential nominee said America’s school system needs an overhaul.
“If we want to build a 21st century infrastructure and repair our crumbling roads and bridges, we can’t afford a future where a third of all fourth graders and a fifth of all eighth graders can’t do basic math, and black and Latino students are even further behind; where elementary school kids are only getting an average 25 minutes of science each day when over 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs require some knowledge in math and science,” Obama said.
Obama -- in what his aides described as a major policy address on education -- talked specifically about his vision to double the amount of money the federal government spends on charter schools from about $200 million a year to $400 million.
“I’ll work with all our nation’s governors to hold all our charter schools accountable,” Obama told an audience of educators. “Charter schools that are successful will get the support they need to grow. And charters that aren’t will get shut down. I want experimentation, but I also want accountability.”
Obama also said he supports the idea of removing teachers from classrooms who don’t meet performance standards -- a concept some educators find troubling.
“One of the things we’ll have to do, and this is something that I know sometimes is difficult, is teachers who are doing a poor job, they’ve got to get extra support,” Obama said.
“But if they don’t improve, then they have be replaced,” he said, “because as good teachers are the first to tell you, if we’re going to attract the best teachers to the profession, we can’t settle for schools filled with teachers that aren’t up to the job. That is something that we have to embrace.”
Specifically, Obama’s education reform plan calls for sweeping changes that include:
Creating an Innovative Schools fund.
Supporting high-quality schools and closing low-performing charter schools.
Supporting advanced placement, dual enrollment and college credit initiatives.
Increasing college awareness and access.
Encouraging clear and high expectations for student achievement and behavior.
Creating a Parent Report Card to support individual learning plans.
Proposing a new $500 million matching fund for technology in classrooms.
Obama spokesman Corey Ealons told BlackAmericaWeb.com that Obama can achieve critically-needed education reform.
“When more than 50 percent of African-American students are dropping out of school across the country, the need for new ideas in our public school system is apparent,” Ealons said.
“Sen. Obama’s 21st-century education policy is about providing an equal opportunity to advance for all children in our society,” he said. “The plan allows for innovation within the public school system, where a majority of African-American students attend, while also seeking higher degrees of accountability in the classroom, at home and in Washington, D.C.”
Obama’s address in Ohio comes days after Republican presidential candidate John McCain also touted his vision for education reform, which includes school vouchers, in the tightening presidential race.
National surveys show that McCain now leads Obama, according to a new CNN poll. Other national polls show the race is either a dead heat or that McCain is ahead. A new USA Today-Gallup poll has McCain ahead by 10 points.
“After three decades of indifference on education, do you really believe that John McCain is going to make a difference now?” Obama said. “John McCain doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand that our success as a nation depends on our success in education. I do.”
But McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds hit back.
“According to a leading non-partisan education magazine, Barack Obama ‘hasn’t made a significant mark’ on education policy, so rather than tout his own record he’s left with no option but to attack John McCain,” Bounds said in a statement. “The truth is Barack Obama joined John McCain in supporting education reforms in the Senate – if he thinks that’s ‘nothing,’ then Barack Obama is in the odd position of attacking his own record.”
Obama choose to introduce his education plan in Ohio, at a time of fierce debate in the state about charter schools. The Ohio Federation of Teachers has complained about the way some charter schools are managed and educators are divided on the issue.
But Obama said he’s prepared to shake up the system.
“As president, I will lead a new era of accountability in education,” he said. “But I don’t just want to hold our teachers accountable. I want you to hold our government accountable. I want you to hold me accountable. That’s why every year I’m president, I will report back to you on the progress our schools are making. It’s time to stop passing the buck on education, and start accepting responsibility, and that’s the kind of example I’ll set as President of the United States.”
“Our future,” he said, “depends on it.”
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/movingamerica08/obamaeducation9 10 |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 7424
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 01:15 pm: |
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He just lost the Teacher's Union.
He really hasn't got a clue, has he? |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 7499
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 01:46 pm: |
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He may have lost the TU, so what. With any luck this will inspire more Blacks to build schools of our own, a prospect that should interest most Black voters. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 7428
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 04:05 pm: |
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With any luck this will inspire more Blacks to build schools of our own, a prospect that should interest most Black voters
(This was the line they gave us here in St. Louis when they brought Charter schools here.
First they raped the Public School system and then brought in Charter schools. Negroes lined up to support them.
Now all the Negro charter schools are closed and white corporate owned Charter Schools are the rule.
These schools exist for one purpose,to make profit for the stockholders. The children in them are not testing any better than in the public schools. They have no accountability. They hire uncertified teachers. They don't have proper books and supplies (they can't waste money on that--the shareholders have to get their dividends).
They have no PTO's. Any parent goes over to the school to complain about condidtions their kid is thrown out. The school gets to keep the money they sucked out of the Public Schools.
They still have public schools--they are more and more holding pens for the kids nobody else wants (the Charter Schools can refuse anybody they want)
Also the Special Needs kids are getting nothing--not profitable to educate them.
I love it. Nowadays Negroes give the lynchers the rope. |
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