"Who Will Stand For This?"

Most funding for public education in America comes from the states, but the legislation and guidance for how to allocate those funds comes from the federal government. Currently, this influence is embodied in the mandates, impossible accountability goals, and all-important high-stakes standardized testing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Strong guidance from the executive and legislative branches of the federal government is necessary to bring about the school and community reforms needed to begin to pull American public schools out of the uninspired quagmire that they are in. Our next president must address this dire American need.
I combed the office and presidential committee website of Republicans Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback. My goal was to determine the candidates’ stances on education, and my findings were unsatisfying. McCain had not a word about education on his presidential committee website, and the other three offered what I felt were cursory, superficial suggestions on what Giuliani rightly identifies as “one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time.”
No Republican candidate recognized the empty promises and counterproductive, draconian mandates of the NCLB.
My attention turns to the Democrats, and reviews of the positions on education of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Dennis Kucinich.
Both Obama’s Senate and presidential committee websites make zero mention of NCLB. Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, former Congressman and U.S. Secretary of Energy, does not list education among the seven issues on his presidential committee website. Hillary Clinton’s Senate website contains 4,200 words and 11 links dedicated to the issue of education. Former Senator Edward’s presidential committee website interestingly lists “Strengthening Education” under the banner of “Eliminating Poverty.”
There is one dark horse presidential candidate who actually does speak on the crisis of high-stakes testing, Democrat Congressman from Ohio Dennis Kucinich: The current Administration wants to box our young people in with standardized tests… These days, American students are tested to an extent that is unprecedented in American history and unparalled anywhere in the world. Education must emphasize creative and critical thinking, not just test taking. I believe we can take our children and society in a new direction by challenging this notion that education should be so limited. We ought to be encouraging art, music, and creative writing in our schools. In doing so, we recognize and fuel the wide range of talents our children possess.
He couldn’t be more right in emphasizing creative and critical thinking over test taking. Unfortunately, most current polls have Kucinich’s support for the candidacy among Democrats at one percent – when he even appears on the poll.
Al Gore’s line on climate change fits just as snugly for public education: “It’s not a political issue, it’s a moral issue.” High-stakes testing is a high-stakes issue, and America’s children deserve action. High-stakes testing stunts our children’s growth and attacks the culture of learning that must exist in successful schools. I call on all of the candidates to recognize and attend to this critical issue. We must demand our political leaders to act. It is our job to find which candidate will step to the plate.