McCain pledging to NAACP more education options

[DaemonSeid]

CINCINNATI - John McCain is telling the NAACP he will expand education opportunities for children in failing schools.
McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, on Wednesday is addressing the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's oldest civil rights organization.

In excerpts released in advance of the speech, McCain says that the worst educational problems in the country are often found in schools in black communities and that as president he will provide greater school choices and scholarships for such students.

McCain also asks the group to excuse his absence from their convention last year, saying he was "a bit distracted" dealing with his then-faltering presidential campaign.

"If I am elected president, school choice for all who want it, an expansion of opportunity scholarships and alternative certification for teachers will all be part of a serious agenda of education reform," McCain said in the excerpts.

"After decades of hearing the same big promises from the public education establishment, and seeing the same poor results, it is surely time to shake off old ways and to demand new reforms," he said. "That isn't just my opinion. It is the conviction of parents in poor neighborhoods across this nation who want better lives for their children."

Ahead of the speech, campaign aides expected the Arizona senator to touch on his support for expanding merit-pay programs for teachers who improve students' performance and more money for tutoring poor kids.

The national teachers' unions oppose linking student test scores to teacher pay. McCain's rival for the presidency, Democrat Barack Obama, supports the idea when teachers help negotiate and craft the merit-pay plans.

Last week, aides to McCain said he would increase the choices kids have when they are in schools that are failing to meet academic benchmarks and that he would support a school voucher program for poor children in failing schools under some circumstances.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080716/...q.n6DzNfes0NUE



John, if you get elected, don't wait 2 terms before you decide to accept an invite to the convention....

[madmax]

It is a waste of money. Obama already addressed the problem. The bros need to do a better job taking care of their kids.

[MandyPepperidge]

Snaps to his plan.

Cindy McCain is a former special education teacher.

[Educatingblue]

I read the article and although it seems like a good idea, I'm not sure how the schools would get "better" if the majority of parents move their students to the "good" schools. Eventually, those schools will become overcrowded and just be average IF it is the student ability level and NOT the teachers' ability to teach....

Lets not mention the majority of parents at failing or low-performing schools rarely get involved...So I seriously don't see them getting their child to school on time to a school outside the local area.

[PeppyGPhiB]

This is a complete 180 for John McCain. Prior to this, he has said that education is not a priority to him. I guess "flip flop" isn't bad when it's a republican.

And considering that my state has voted down charter schools multiple times now, this won't really help him here. Not everyone likes the idea of giving up on public schools. What happens when half the people in, say, the Seattle School District, demand vouchers to go to school in the suburbs? What happens to the kids that transfer to schools that teach at a level too high for what they've been prepared for, and what happens to the schools that get an influx of kids that aren't prepared to be there?

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

This is a complete 180 for John McCain. Prior to this, he has said that education is not a priority to him. I guess "flip flop" isn't bad when it's a republican.

Flip flop has been used previously about Republicans. Let's not make that term into a party thing, both parties have been more than thrilled to use the term.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Educatingblue

I read the article and although it seems like a good idea, I'm not sure how the schools would get "better" if the majority of parents move their students to the "good" schools. Eventually, those schools will become overcrowded and just be average IF it is the student ability level and NOT the teachers' ability to teach....

Lets not mention the majority of parents at failing or low-performing schools rarely get involved...So I seriously don't see them getting their child to school on time to a school outside the local area.

My wife teaches at an inner-city college preparatory charter school (Avid program if you're familiar with it).

What you say is often true, but not necessarily. There are quite a few kids who take public transportation to school.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

[laylo]

I don't know the specifics of McCain's plan, and I'm not big on vouchers, but I don't think the idea of giving kids other options should be dismissed as giving up on public schools. The fact is that when school communities stop placing blame and commit to doing whatever it takes to see achievement, inner-city schools have to work much longer and more strategically than other schools do. Public districts aren't just going to start making sure that happens as long as they have a "monopoly" on poor families.