The future of education is a hot topic for me when it comes to the presidential election. It is important to know where each presidential hopeful stands and what they have in plan for our country’s youth.

I want to start by taking a look at Obama’s campaign and his plan to improve education.

Obama shares his list of 5 major problems with the U.S. education system:

1. No Child Left Behind – good plan, poor funding

He agrees with the goal of the law, just feels that the funding is more left behind than the children.

2. Students aren’t meeting expectations

Basically, he feels that students across all grade levels are lacking in academics and are behind other countries in terms of performance in math and science.

3. High dropout rates

Only 70% of high school students graduate with a diploma.

4. Poor teacher retention

There is a major problem with keeping good teachers in the classroom.

5. Rising college tuition

Who can afford college if tuition keeps increasing?

Some those are his main issues with the education system here in the U.S. And like my mom always says, if you are going to complain about something, you better offer a solution to make it better.

Obama does have a plan, and here it is in a nutshell for early education through continuing education.

Early Education

• Zero to Five Plan

• Expand Early Head Start Programs

• Offer Affordable, High-Quality Child Care

K-12

• Reform NCLB

• Math and Science Education Needs to be a National Priority

• Fix the Dropout Crisis

• Expand After School Programs

• Expand Summer Programs

• College Outreach Programs

• Support ESL Learners

Teachers

• Recruit more teachers

• Create Teacher Residency Programs

• Retain Teachers

• Reward Teachers ($$)

Higher Education

• American Opportunity Tax Credit

• Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid

I wasn’t kidding about putting it in a nutshell! I encourage you to read more about his plan for education here so you can get a better feel for what he has in store.

Here is a short speech by Obama on NCLB.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ3hdipWDfA]

Check back for a breakdown of McCain’s plan for education coming shortly.

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Parental rights

06-02-2009 8:17 AM

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