While McCain dispatches Lisa Graham Keegan to talk to education reporters (see below), Timesman David Brooks accuses Obama of being all carrot, no stick on education. “He’s politically astute — giving everybody the impression he’s on their side — but substantively vague. Change just isn’t that easy.”
Brooks frames his column with the Times overly facile take that this week’s dueling ed reform manifestos boils down to warring camps within the Democratic party. But regardless, it’s worth asking, as Brooks does, what Obama believes:
When you look at the actual proposals Obama offers, he’s doesn’t really address the core issues. He’s for the vast panoply of pre-K and after-school programs that most of us are for. But the crucial issues are: What do you do with teachers and administrators who are failing? How rigorously do you enforce accountability? Obama doesn’t engage the thorny, substantive matters that separate the two camps.
Obama’s education remarks “give the impression of a candidate who wants to be for big change without actually incurring the political costs inherent in that enterprise,” Brooks concludes.
David Brooks, who I respect greatly, was really lazy with this op-ed seemingly relying only on stump speeches. If Brooks had researched the candidates’ published positions on their websites he would have seen that at least Obama is seriously engaging education policy with some in-depth discussion and fact sheets for his plans. McCain has no specifics, just a page full of platitudes. While Obama may not be as live and die and ready for battle on these issues as many of us are, I give Obama credit for being engaged. If Brooks is counting on McCain to fully engage the complex and contentious issues around American education in this election or as president, well, good luck with that.
Jon Steward “reported” that Obama’s blood pressure is 0 over 60. Even if that’s not precisely correct, and I trust the Daily Show over a lot of news sources, it is very relevent to education reform.
Liberal reformers who still support NCLB are guilty of utopian overeach. They want to leverage 10% of education funding in order to drive a civil rights movement on the cheap. In sports, people like Rhee and BloomKlein would be shunned as “one man teams.” Obama, though, seems to understand the need to “play within himself,” be a “team play,” and play “under control.”
Like it or not, firing bad teachers is primarily a local matter. He can provide national leadership and incentives, but he isn’t going to try to micromanage every classroom in the nation.
The Broader Bolder Challenge could provide an opportunity for liberals to come back to their home. The sixty signers want a whole range of structural reformers for K-12. But they agree on something that we should all be able to agree upon. Even Charlie Barone wrote that classroom instruction is the 3rd most important factor, ahead of pre-school, and behind parenting and health in importance for childrens’ success. When disagreeing on K-12, let’s build upon the foundation which unites Obama, and all but a few “true believers.”
I meant 90 over 60!
John – You mischaracterize, I assume inadvertantly, what I said. I listed 4 things that ED ZIGLER said were important for SCHOOLS to address. Instruction was 3rd on the list. But no one said the list was in terms of importance. And Zigler thought all 4 should be addressed by schools. Open your eyes.