Sean Cavanagh
Education Week

John McCain and Barack Obama have voiced concerns about U.S. students’ middling performance in mathematics and science, echoing the views of many business executives and scientists. But fiscal realities may limit what they could do to address the issue as president.

Both candidates agree that improving the math and science teaching corps will be a key to meeting those challenges, and they’ve proposed new federal financial incentives aimed at luring more people into the profession and encouraging them to stick with it.

Sen. Obama’s math and science proposals are more ambitious, and almost certainly would be more costly, several observers said. The Illinois Democrat has called for an estimated $18 billion in new federal spending on preschool and K-12 programs in all subjects and areas, while Sen. McCain has proposed freezing most discretionary spending until he could conduct a full review of all federal programs. (”U.S. Education Budget Roiled by Financial Crisis,” Sept. 29, 2008.)

Sen. Obama calls for creating 40,000 “teaching service scholarships,” worth up to $25,000 each, for those willing to teach in high-need schools and subjects, such as math and science. He says teachers would also benefit from a tax credit of $4,000 for college, and from his support for teacher-training “residency” programs, one of which is located in his home city of Chicago.

Sen. McCain, meanwhile, has said he would channel a portion of federal teacher-training funding toward bonuses for teachers who agreed to work in math or science and in hard-to-staff schools. The Arizona Republican also pledges to boost support for online education programs that focus on math and science.

“We need to provide more incentives and ability for math, science, and engineering students,” Sen. McCain said in an Aug. 20 campaign speech in Las Cruces, N.M. “We are falling behind in that area. Everybody knows that…”

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Editor’s Note: Teachers College Presents “Education and the Next President”
Tune in Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. Eastern Time, for this live webcast of a debate between Linda Darling-Hammond, education adviser to Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama, and Lisa Graham Keegan, education adviser to Republican nominee John McCain. Don’t miss this important election event. Register free here.

Steve Turnham
AC360° Producer

John McCain may be short on cash, but he’s making every penny count.

Just take a look at the last couple of days campaigning, when McCain cleverly squeezed out some high value airtime, without paying a dime.

Take Tuesday. The McCain campaign convinced the national media that his prime time speech was gonna be big — I mean really big — a general election kick off speech that would define the next phase of the campaign.

It didn’t exactly live up to the hype. McCain went only a little further in breaking from President Bush, and a little further in going after Barack Obama.

But none of that mattered: McCain reached an audience of millions tuning in for the night’s main event, and most major newspapers carried stories about the speech that made it sound a little more dramatic than it actually was.
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Erica Hill
360° Correspondent

After 35 years, Hedviga Golik has finally left her apartment…something that makes me so sad. “Sad” because no one noticed she hadn’t left her home for three and a half decades. It’s believed Hedviga died in 1973. Her body was found in her bed earlier this week. So far, no one — no family, no friends, no neighbors – has claimed the body.

The fact that this woman doesn’t appear to have had any close friends or even nosy neighbors is heartbreaking. Also upsetting? The reason her body was finally discovered. Apparently, her neighbors broke into her home because they felt the apartment should belong to them.

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I saw this story recently and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, is about to graduate its first white valedictorian. Morehouse is an incredible school, known for graduating “Morehouse Men” – intelligent, successful black leaders. Josh Packwod fits two of the three on that bill. You can imagine the varied reactions to this student’s accomplishment. It’s a story that can make all of us think, though, no matter your race, no matter your alma mater.

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Education is incredibly important to me. My mother and sister are teachers and I was lucky enough to attend fantastic public schools with excellent teachers who kept me engaged, excited and hungering for more. So many educators routinely go beyond the call of, including this week’s CNN Hero, Carmen Salva. We are all richer for knowing these people.

Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington

Editor’s note: Judge Marvin Arrington has served as a Superior Court Judge in Fulton County, Georgia, since 2002. He recently ordered white lawyers out if his courtroom so he could speak to a black-only audience.  FULL STORY  We asked Judge Arrington to share his thoughts - he wrote about the importance of education.

Young people should be given a plan early in life and know that the goals are achievable.  If you work hard and put those goals in place, you can and will be successful.  I am a firm believer that hard work, blood, sweat and tears, will get you to where you want to go.

We need to create a buddy system where we can tap young people in the classroom to help the brother, sister, a neighbor, a friend, a teammate that you can help move in the right direction. You can do it by creating an environment where students want to compete and achieve. 

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