ed, you kayshun

i had the benefit of growing up in a pleasant suburb with responsible parents who just happened to be teachers. we had good schools and i had parents who pushed me to do well. i did. and i am where i am today because of where i came from.

however, there are plenty of people who come from single parent households and live in poor school districts and lack the advantages that i had. education is at the core of what our country is and will be. the most prosperous countries tend to be the best educated. they follow each other. one leads to the other which leads back to the other. but we in the US have been slipping. we were once the best educated country in the world, but others have advanced while we have stagnated and squandered resources.

money is a problem, but its not the only problem. failed policies and procedures are part of the problem too. the no child left behind act has made standardized testing the bar over which students and teachers must hurdle. but rather than teach students all they need to know, they teach for the tests. students miss out on a lot due to this.

still, there has been very little talk about how to fix the system. neither candidate has laid out a plan. they get up on their stumps and babble about gas prices and ignore the failing schools and undereducated kids. this is a big issue and it needs attention. for all the lip service that the pushes paid the education system, theyve probably done more harm than good. our children, and therefore shools and teachers, need the best tools possible to keep our place as a world leader. the cliche is that kids are the future. sometimes cliches make sense.

watch the video and sign the petition.