McCain & Obama on School Vouchers

[frawin]

This is an important subject, especially in the big inner city schools, one of the keys to improving poverty, lowering crime and being a more productiive nation is a better education for all of America's youth:
By Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

     
Join Roland Martin for his weekly sound-off segment on CNN.com Live at 11:10 a.m. Thursday. If you're passionate about politics, he wants to hear from you.


Roland Martin says school vouchers should be an option for families with kids in dead-end schools.

ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) -- "All I want is for my children to get the best education they can."

That statement, along with so many others, has been a consistent one that I've heard on my radio show and in discussions with parents for years, especially those whose children are stuck in inner-city schools with decrepit buildings and a lack of critical resources.

And for the past 20 years, one of the most talked-about solutions for parents stuck in dead-end, failing schools is to give them the option to use vouchers to send their children someplace where they could get a quality education.

Republicans have made vouchers a linchpin of their education overhaul initiatives. Democrats have steadfastly refused, saying it would take vital dollars out of the public school system.

This year's presidential candidates are lining up right along with their parties. Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee, says vouchers are the right way to go to give parents an option for a better education, while Sen. Barack Obama says the GOP has talked and talked about vouchers, and it hasn't amounted to much more.

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But part of the reason why vouchers have been denounced and dismissed is because Democrats have been far too obstinate on the issue, and have not listened to their constituents, especially African-Americans, who overwhelmingly support vouchers.

There is no doubt that on this issue, McCain has it right and Obama has it wrong.

The fundamental problem with the voucher debate is that it is always seen as an either/or proposition. For Republicans, it is the panacea to all the educational woes, and that is nonsensical. For Democrats, it is something that will destroy public education, and that too is a bunch of crap.

I fundamentally believe that vouchers are simply one part of the entire educational pie. There simply is no one sure-fire way to educate a child. We've seen public schools do a helluva job -- I went to them from K through college -- and so have private schools, home schooling, charter schools and even online initiatives. This is the kind of innovation we need, not more efforts to prevent a worthy idea from moving forward.

Obama's opposition is right along the lines of the National Education Association, and the teachers union is a reliable and powerful Democratic ally. But this is one time where he should have opposed them and made it clear that vouchers can force school districts, administrators and teachers to shape up or see their students ship out.

It is unconscionable to ask a parent to watch as his child is stuck in a failing school or district, and ask him to bank on a politician coming up with more funds to improve the situation. Fine, call vouchers a short-term solution to a long-term problem, but I'd rather have a child getting the best education -- now -- rather than having to hope and pray down the line.

McCain and Obama have presented comprehensive education plans, and those are noble. But leaving out vouchers does a tremendous disservice to the parents who are fed up with deplorable schools, and allows school districts to operate with impunity and without any real competition.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning journalist and CNN contributor. He is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at http://www.rolandsmartin.com/.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

[sixdogsmom]

Okay, say that fifty percent of the students in the West Elk district opted for school vouchers. West Elk would have to close all the schools whilst still paying the same mill levy. (there are less than 400 students in the entire district)

[frawin]

SDM, goodpoint and there probably should be something for such situations. On the other hand say that West Elk Schools were terrible and the kids are not getting a good education and the board was not responding to the need for change (NONE OF WHICH I THINK WILL HAPPEN AT WEST ELK BUT COULD HAPPEN IN A SIMILIAR SITUATIONS) should the parents be forced to leave their children there and sacrifice their child's education and future for the boards ineptness, I think not and I can tell you I know some of the parents in West Elk and they would not leave their children their if the school was run like one in Watts.  Do you think families in the inner city should be forced to leave their children in a dangerous atmosphere and one where they are learning nothing but how to smoke pot, where they are not getting an education. We should be for the kids,we only get one chance to give them an education let's don't blow it for selfish reasons.

[sixdogsmom]

I think the families should do what the families would do here; get involved with the schools. There is no school that is going to please everyone, but if the school is a bad school, the parents and community can change it.

[frawin]

SDM, with all due respect, you are obviously not familiar with the situations in Watts, South Chicago, East St . Louis and other areas. I love Howard Kansas and the people and I am pleased that Howard Kansas is not a taste of the real world.

[frawin]

I didn't post this subject on the for an argument or point about either candidate it was more to make a point on what I think is an injustice to the families and children stuck in a terrible atmosphere and they want to help their children have a better life.
Have a great day,

[flo]

gotta jump in here, sorry - - - - - If the teachers in "inner-city" schools aren't doing their job, get new teachers.  If the school isn't educating the students to the parents' expectations, ever think that maybe, just maybe, the child could be part of the problem? Have these parents instilled in their children the importance of an education to better themselves?  Who wouldn't like to send their children to private schools but the fact is the largest percentage of the working class can't afford it.  SO, if you can't afford it, then send them to public school.  If I can't afford to send my child to a private school, then why should my taxes go for "vouchers" so someone else can send their child to a private school? I could be wrong, but a large percentage of those doing the complaining are probably the same parents sitting and waiting for their monthly welfare check and food stamps and don't give a diddly squat about where their kids are or what they're doing or when they'll be home because they themselves were raised like that and don't know any different.  If you really care, pull your socks up, get a job, move to a better neighborhood and school and do something about your situation, ON YOUR OWN.  NOW let 'er rip.........

[Wilma]

Hey, Flo, you didn't leave me anything to rip about.  We chose to raise our children in a small town because we knew it would be best for them.  My husband worked for everything we had at a job he didn't think he would like and drove 65 miles, one way, every work day to do it.

[greatguns]

YES! you go girls!