Joe's Kids Need an Education

The latest diversion on the campaign trail these days is Joe the Plumber, otherwise known as Jose el plomero here in the southwest.  Another empty attempt at diverting from one of the most critical issues of our time.......our nation's education crisis.  The stock market roller coaster ride we have been on for the last month (maybe this is not a good metaphor since roller coasters do go up) has prompted us to veer off the path of education reform that is needed to make America competitive in the global market.

Education and our economy are linked tighter than George and Weezie or Bush and failed policies.  Without a competitive education system, the disparities between those prospering and those living in poverty will continue to grow.  On the campaign trail, the candidates have feigned the issue for the most part.  Sen. Barack Obama has been the more vocal of the two, focusing on parental involvement, rewarding good teachers and the growth and expansion of the charter school movement.  Sen. McCain glances over this issue speaking primarily about what has been done in Washington D.C. with vouchers.  First of all, as a macro-level strategy, vouchers will invariably create a problem of supply vs. demand.  

In our current context, most of our nations schools-- particularly inner city schools-- are underperforming under the guise of No Child Left Behind. These schools often times are also the most densely populated.  So, if young people attending these schools decide to transfer to a higher performing school, we face a challenge of bandwidth since higher performing schools will probably not have the capacity to take on increased numbers of students.  Thus, vouchers at best can be a small part of the solution.  

We have to take action on education reform by setting higher standards for our students.  We also have to look at this issue holistically by focusing on empowering families; engaging students using multiple intelligences approaches; making teaching a valued profession in American culture; creating smaller learning communities where students have more individualized attention from teachers; and extending the learning day whereby students can participate in engaging educational opportunities before and after school. 

Joe the Plumber may not have anyone to pass the family business on to if his children are not prepared for an evolving global economy.