The+Next+President's+Impact+on+Education


 * Presidential Election 2008: Education**



Research the education platforms of McCain and Obama. Which of the presidential candidates has a better platform for education? From the student perspective, what are the strengths and weaknesses of their plans?

Reminder: This is persuasion practice, so you must utilize pathos, ethos and logos as well as additional persuasive devices. As always, claims must be backed up by support (citations, statistics, credible quotes, etc.).

Advisors debate the merits of presidential contenders' education plans ** Education plans of Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain were the focus Tuesday evening during "Education and the Next President," a lively 90-minute webcast debate, sponsored byedweek.org with support from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond serves as education advisor to Obama, while former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan advises McCain. If you missed it, you can view the archived webcast and the transcript online at [|Education Week].
 * //Taken From:// ||
 * __Education Week__ ||

As outlined by Darling-Hammond, Obama has a comprehensive, well-crafted proposal to expand Head Start and Early Head Start, boost teacher recruitment and retention in meaningful ways, and significantly improve college affordability. Keegan reiterated that McCain will freeze education spending, will repurpose professional development funding to send it directly to principals for pay-for-test score experiments, will continue to stress standardized tests above all other forms of assessment, and will advocate more resources for vouchers.

Darling-Hammond pointed out that we need more resources, particularly for schools in low-income areas. She added that we have to be strategic about how the funding is used, and we need to pay particular attention to equalization of resources, which will require investments. Keegan stressed repeatedly that more money is not the answer. Darling-Hammond replied, with chuckles from the audience, "When people say - particularly rich people - that money doesn't matter, I don’t see them trying to give it up." Click on the Discussion Tab above to begin.

Candidates Web Site: [|John McCain] [|Barack Obama]