SC goes to Obama, Clinton loses black supporters...

[skylark]

^^^ If you're interested enough in his concrete plans, pick up his book. He is more detailed in it, for instance, on his view of education policies. He says that he supports programs that pay teachers at least partially based on merit, but is careful to point out that the means of evaluating good teachers should be designed by educators themselves (not merely an evaluation of students standardized test scores).

I'm not 100% sure on this next part, but I'm pretty sure he also talks about how he'd like to see the public school funding system change so that property taxes more evenly fund schools (so you don't have adjacent districts with incredibly disparate resources based on the economic differences between those districts).

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by skylark

I'm not 100% sure on this next part, but I'm pretty sure he also talks about how he'd like to see the public school funding system change so that property taxes more evenly fund schools (so you don't have adjacent districts with incredibly disparate resources based on the economic differences between those districts).

Except that this is a state and local issue, not a federal issue (which Michigan tried to fix and it's still really messed up).

The inherent problem with the primaries (although I admit they are necessary) is that you have to pit people with similar philosophies and ideas against each other. It's tough to attack their stands on the issues, so, in our attacking political environment, they end up attacking things that shouldn't even be brought up. Then, after the primaries and the Conventions, they have to all rally to support the very person they attacked.

[skylark]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Except that this is a state and local issue, not a federal issue (which Michigan tried to fix and it's still really messed up).

It is not as if the federal government has never had influence over state & local education. I hate to use No Child Left Behind as an example, as it is such a bad one, but there you go.

Even if it isn't a program with a name, there is a lot that the federal government can do to help education. For instance, perhaps the federal government could provide a heavily funded grant program to districts that receive less than X dollars per pupil through its local funding. An application process for the funds could make sure the money goes to the districts that need it the most. I don't know, I'm just throwing that out there.

My point is that you can't just say "that's a state and local issue" and assume that a presidential candidate can't or won't step up and be a leader on an issue. It hasn't stopped presidents before, and I doubt it'll stop a president in the future.