Obama, Dems wrong on school vouchers
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Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor
When President Obama signs the $410 billion omnibus spending bill, there will be shouts of joy from both sides as Republicans and Democrats get their cherished earmarks.
Yet tucked into that bill is an amendment pushed by the president's former colleague in the Senate, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, who used his influence to essentially kill the District of Columbia school vouchers program.
Oh sure, it will be portrayed that the Democrats aren't killing the program, but the initiative calls for no new students to be allowed entry, unless approved by Congress and the District of Columbia City Council.
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Filed under: Education • President Barack Obama • Roland S. Martin |
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Your comments on your other blog were closed and I didn't get a chance to comment ,so I will do it here. I want to know why you are not in President Obama's cabinet? You have so many brilliant ideas and they could use the good positive feedback you present. Keep up the good work!
Go Dick Durban ! He must clearly understand Rhee's educational reform total confusion ! End the mandates on NCLB ! We love you Dick Durban and way to go ! Public Education scores two under the mandates of NCLB,imagine that ! End the mandates on Pl 107-110 and it's not working !
Obama's policy of cradle to grave education is outright brainwashing and societal manipulation. Read Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.
Actually, I think Obama is right. He's been living up to his promises on everything else so far (what he's been able to get to anyway. He's only had 7 weeks in office. No one can move with lightning speed), what makes you think he won't live up to this one?
There's no reason to think he won't.
So far, he's doing exactly what I hoped he'd do.
Private and charter schools produce much better results at a fraction of the cost that it now takes to operate all of the major public school systems in the nation. Even home schooling has much better results that the public school system.
The most terrible thing about this whole thing is the lives that will damaged by decades old failed public school policies. Obama should analyze this issue well before he condemns children, most of them African Americans; to a lesser life than they are capable of accomplishing if their parents only had a choice of where to send their children to school.
This is why it has become so difficult for any American to believe anyone politician. I still like Obama, but he is looking more and more like politics as usual.
The public school system is a criminal monopoly that is costing tens of millions of Black, White, Hispanic, etc. boys and girls their very future. All this terrible cost to our society for the sake of political expediency.
Sorry, folks. I believe you save as many as you can now, and continue to save the rest later. This shouldn't be an either/or proposition, but an and/both situation.
That's all well and good, but you're left with Sophie's Choice of which few to save. Keep in mind that many who support vouchers have no interest in fixing the REST of the schools, they just want federal funds for their (mainly religion-based) schools. So parents in poor districts can choose between sending their kids to schools that can't teach them to read, or Indoctrination 'R' Us. Nice.
Roland,
For once I agree with you. I don't think that Obama's plan does nearly enough to help our ailing school system. In reality I heard him say nothing new. He said the same things that Bush did. So where's the change?
I also agree that doing away with vouchers is crazy! Like you said we should help the ones that we can now until we fix the whole system where we won't have to need them. It is very hypocritical for Obama and the members of congress to say they aren't needed but yet they have their kids in private school. How ridiculous! Elitism at it's core right there! So they think it's OK to go to private school if you can afford it but if not Oh well..too bad! What's wrong with that picture!?
Cindy..Ga.