Wednesday, February 6, 2008

McCain: Education

CChapin P3

John McCain surprisingly doesn't discuss his positions on education and “he actually never came out with an education platform the last time he ran for president” http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2007/08/where_do_the_candidates_stand_8.html so all there is to base his positions on is brief statements and how he votes.









He believes that most educational decisions should not be made from the educational level “however, he supports No Child Left Behind, as well as nationwide merit pay. He also voted for a 75$ million abstinence education allocation.” focusing more on money and leaving the school's future under the state.
John McCain firmly believes virtues should be taught in schools which is one of the specifications he wants to enforce on the federal level. Refering to teaching virtues in school McCain says, “I would certainly make them part of any voucher program, a test voucher program which I would not take out of education funds.” http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/John_McCain_Education.htm
which leaves the citizens wondering where the funding for this program will come from. Being a supporter of both charter schools and vouchers however “he thinks that funding for both should come from other sources, such as reallocating current subsidies to oil and ethanol.” Essentially McCain will create a voucher program for teaching virtues in school but he will not do the same for funding of schools in general.



As for McCain's view on paying teachers he is against unions and is in favor of merit pay. John McCain demands the best teachers for schools and higher pay for them as well, “It is unconscionable that the average salary of a lawyer is $79,000 a year and the average salary of a teacher is $39,000 a year” http://ontheissues.org/Senate/John_McCain_Education.htm but again without providing any hint as to where this money will be coming from.
As for John McCain’s view on preschooling he “plans to better prepare American kids for school by reforming Head Start” http://www.education.com/magazine/article/John_McCain/ and improving No Child Left Behind. “McCain wants to empower parents” http://www.education.com/magazine/article/John_McCain/ as a way to improve the program but Holtz-Eakin with a long and distinguished career of public service says “the law needs to start addressing the underlying cultural problems in our education system, instead of avoiding genuine accountability” http://www.education.com/magazine/article/John_McCain/ McCain is also caught saying, “"to make our public schools more accountable to parents and better able to meet the critical responsibility they have to prepare our children for the challenges they'll face in the world they'll lead.” http://www.johnmccain.com/actioncenter/print.aspx?r=b55bebc3-a74b-4e3f-8dc9-b25688963965&t=ceb20ad6-f634-43ef-aedd-f5b59c4e02d7
Again putting the blame on the parents and not the schooling system even thoughg the purpose of Head Start is to help children get into school having nothing to do with the parents role in their childs schooling.
When being adressed with the topic of No Child Left Behind, “the bill has received a lot of flack from both parties, but while McCain acknowledges that changes should be made, he says to improve it and not discard it. http://www.education.com/magazine/article/John_McCain/

Now this program has made great accomplishments “we finally see what is happening to students who were previously invisible”
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/John_McCain/
but “McCain wants to empower parents by greatly expanding the ability of parents to choose among schools for their children. All federal financial support must be predicated on providing parents the ability to move their children, and the dollars associated with them, from failing schools.”
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/John_McCain/
which doesn't adress the issue that was the intital purpose of No Child Left Behind. The problem was and still is that students have been too often behind in classes and the standard is too low. So by solely giving the responsibility to the parents and the teachers doesn't make sense seeing as how parents and teachers were the ones who in the the first place, were unable to keep their child atleast average in their schooling.

Walberg has the same position as McCain insisting “No Child Left Behind, a massive bill filled with time-consuming mandates that increase the presence of federal bureaucrats in our classrooms. We need to advance education policies that allow a child's educational path to be determined by a child's parents and teachers, not federal bureaucrats” http://blog.mlive.com/taking_notes/presidential_candidates/
but the thriving candidate Hilary Clinton has her husband report her view on the No Child Left Behind program. "I want you to think about this, and I have to say, this was a train wreck that was not intended. No Child Left Behind was supported by George Bush and Senator Ted Kennedy and everybody in between. Why? Because they didn't talk to enough teachers before they did that." Clearly showing Clinton's position on how severely the program has been unsuccessful and also informing the citizens on how the program will go about improvements. In conclusion McCain didn't make many statements for change on education if hew ere to be president but he does commit himself to teaching virtues in school and raising teachers pay.


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