Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Obama and Education
Personally, education is a key issue in this campaign. My family is a family of teachers and administrators so I am aware of how dedicated teachers can impact students and how much they care about the communities they work in. My mother is a vice-principal at a successful charter school in Newark, NJ and I have seen first hand how invaluable an opportunity it is for students in that urban area. Without the charter school to open doors their chances at going to a well-funded and furnished high school are incredibly limited. But with the services offered, they are able to get a quality education in an institution they can be proud of as well as a chance to go to some of the most elite high schools in the world. Clearly, this is an issue very close to my heart and Obama's recent statements about education and charter school funding in particular are exactly what I would want to hear from the next president of the country. Not only has he pledged dedication to improve the No Child Left Behind Act but he also plans on giving more funding to the most responsible charter schools. He wants to give parents more options for education which is relevant because the only option open to children in urban communities are public schools which are notoriously unsuccessful at encouraging students to learn and continue their educations. He also notes that in the age of globalization our children are going to have to be better educated in order to compete with nations around the world. The future of our country rests on the shoulders of our children and we can't leave their education and their own futures up to chance.
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After reading this article, I was really forced to wonder how many people choose to support a political candidate based on their stance on one particular issue. While it is natural for us to find candidates with beliefs that closely reflect our own, I feel that it could be potentially dangerous to support a candidate simply because they know how to strike a positive chord on a hot button issue.
Like Steph, I too have an issue that I am very adamant about. That is not to say, however, that I will support a candidate because he has a set of values on the issue that most closely mirror my own. Everyone has their passions and their own set of beliefs and values that make them truly unique from everyone else.
When choosing the next President of the United States, I feel that it is important to make a decision based on our unique beliefs. However, if we fail to act rationally and neglect to assimilate issues of lesser personal significance into our final conclusions, our narrow-mindedness could prevent us from selecting the most qualified person for the position. When we are electing the next leader of the free world, therefore, it is essential that we realize that decisions based squarely on issues of personal relevance could have potentially dire consequences.
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