You Decide ‘09: Outdated promises or real reform?
Arriving home on Saturday afternoon after running some errands, my hands were full of bags as I encountered a father and son at my door. Ah yes, campaign season is in full swing!
Since my hands were full, and I was eager to unload my groceries, I didn’t stop to talk to the pair- simply thanked them for their time, and they were back on their way.
After the fact, I wished I had stopped the father and son to talk- and more specifically, ask them what their candidate proposed to do to improve the son’s education- to improve education for all of Virginia’s kids. Now I know that these were just two volunteers out with their prepared campaign lit (trust me, I’ve been there plenty there plenty of times myself), but it would have been interesting to hear what their “talking points” on education would have been. More funding? More teacher pay? More money in the classroom? Accountability? Sure, those may be good sound bites, but do they really improve education?
Well the folks at the Washington Post Editorial Board must have been reading my mind (which believe me, is a scary and pretty surreal thing, since I can certainly count on one hand the times the Post and I agree on things…) But sure enough, there was the Post, calling both candidates for governor to task and challenging them to stand up for real education reforms.
Their editorial: Old School in Virginia: Instead of making outdated promises, the gubernatorial candidates should be promoting education reform.
The Post makes the argument that while candidates’ pledges to raise teacher salaries might make a good sound-bite, there is no evidence that it will do anything to actually improve education. While it might be a good move in appeasing the teacher’s unions, it doesn’t equal results. Real education reforms are needed to create real results.
The Post did have some praise for Mr. McDonnell for part of his platform on education.
There are some glimpses of that willingness in the gubernatorial campaigns. We admire Mr. McDonnell’s outspoken support for charter schools; Mr. Deeds has interesting ideas on how to encourage people to become teachers in Virginia. Both see the need for toughening standards. Each says that he supports the concept of performance pay, Mr. McDonnell more convincingly than Mr. Deeds. But neither has fully developed proposals that he is really pushing.
Will Bob McDonnell or Creigh Deeds heed this advice and start promoting substantive reforms? Will they break free from the old school and give Virginians some 21st century solutions?
This year’s other elections up in New Jersey are already seeing education playing a bigger role in the campaigns. Also on Sunday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that “Schools fuel the NJ race for Governor.” The headline should have probably said “education” instead of “schools,” but that aside, it is clear that all 3 candidates in NJ are pushing hard on education and making it a priority in this campaign.
Virginia voters should also demand that education be a priority in the campaign, and not just the same old “outdated promises.” Our children deserve real solutions and real results- not sound-bites and the status quo.
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