If Al Gore was president....

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

The teacher in me wonders if Gore were president would I be putting up with the craptastic law called NCLB?

Methinks not.

I don't know. We had a Democratic governor in Georgia whose educational reforms were as intense: end of course test in every class in high school, teacher evaluation based on student performance, the end of tenure.*

He lost his re-election bid to a Republican guy who while he hasn't increased funding as much as some folks want and wasn't able to give teachers a raise a few years when state revenue was down, has pushed for small raises two years in a row, created a Master teacher distinction with a 10% incentive, and for two years now pushed for each teacher to get a $100 gift card that we could decide how to spend. $100 bucks isn't much, but it's more than anyone has ever given us before.

I don't think Al would have been especially bad, but I don't know that you can assume that he wouldn't have screwed around with education reform just because of party affiliation. (Forgive me for that assumption if your comment was based on considerably more than that.)


*Some of these "reforms" don't bother me, and some of the problems with NCLB are what the states and local systems did trying to comply with the law itself.

[ASUADPi]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

I don't know. We had a Democratic governor in Georgia whose educational reforms were as intense: end of course test in every class in high school, teacher evaluation based on student performance, the end of tenure.*

He lost his re-election bid to a Republican guy who while he hasn't increased funding as much as some folks want and wasn't able to give teachers a raise a few years when state revenue was down, has pushed for small raises two years in a row, created a Master teacher distinction with a 10% incentive, and for two years now pushed for each teacher to get a $100 gift card that we could decide how to spend. $100 bucks isn't much, but it's more than anyone has ever given us before.

I don't think Al would have been especially bad, but I don't know that you can assume that he wouldn't have screwed around with education reform just because of party affiliation. (Forgive me for that assumption if your comment was based on considerably more than that.)


*Some of these "reforms" don't bother me, and some of the problems with NCLB are what the states and local systems did trying to comply with the law itself.

Oh totally fine

I definately agree that he probably would have screwed with education reform, I just have a feeling NCLB wouldn't have come to play with Gore as president. But who knows. Unfortunately we are stuck with it and I don't see it going away anytime soon (as much as I would love for it to go the way of the dinosaur but that is a WHOLE other thread )

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

Unfortunately we are stuck with it and I don't see it going away anytime soon (as much as I would love for it to go the way of the dinosaur but that is a WHOLE other thread )

I just find it interesting that NCLB came from a conservative, Republican president. One would expect a greater deference to federalism, where education is supposed to be the province of the states, not of the federal government. But I guess that went out the window a long time ago.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I just find it interesting that NCLB came from a conservative, Republican president. One would expect a greater deference to federalism, where education is supposed to be the province of the states, not of the federal government. But I guess that went out the window a long time ago.

Well, MysticCat, it's really hard to make the argument based on anything he's done really that Bush is a truly conservative president who defers to federalism.

He may be religiously and socially conservative, but for restraint and federalism, he is not the right guy.

(He may have ended up getting justices through who will support it, so his legacy may end up different than the actually presidency.)

I agree though the progress from Republicans wanting to get rid of the federal Department of Education to NCLB is bizarre. (And no doubt, it's one of the reasons why some people believe that NCLB isn't REALLY about reforming education: for them, it's about declaring all the public schools failing.)

[shinerbock]

Vouchers. Discuss.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Well, MysticCat, it's really hard to make the argument based on anything he's done really that Bush is a truly conservative president who defers to federalism.

He may be religiously and socially conservative, but for restraint and federalism, he is not the right guy.

I agree completely. I guess my facetiousness was too subtle.

[shinerbock]

Fiscal conservatism is dead. Unless Thompson or Romney wins the presidency, then maybe we'll have a shot, who knows.

On the other side, you have Edwards running a robin hood "steal from the rich" campaign.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I agree completely. I guess my facetiousness was too subtle.

Sorry, I guess it was for me.

I know too many people who don't know what conservatives really are or should be. I work with someone active in the Republican party who wanted to see laws regulating what previews could be shown at G rated movies because the last time she took her kid to a movie, the previews were too scary. The idea that maybe we didn't need the government to regulate movie previews hadn't occurred to her, I guess. (Surely, this is an area where private pressure could accomplish the desired end without governmental regulation.)

Vouchers: I doubt they will really amount to a net improvement, but it wouldn't bother me to try them. But it's very hard to find anyone who can clearly articulate how a voucher system would work if every kid was entitled to one.

Would we privatize all aspects of what had been public school? If so, how?

[RU OX Alum]

People who want to ban what can be shown in theatres are the same ones who would burn you at the stake if they could.