Why Should Education Be a Top Presidential Issue?
There are a lot of stories out there about the invisibility of education as an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, and some schadenfreude at the failure of Ed in ’08 to change that.
I see it as a good sign that the American people have at least some awareness of presidential powers and responsibilities – more awareness, in fact, than many of the candidates themselves, who when addressing educators seem to think they’re running for national schools superintendent.
The President of the United States commands the largest military force in the world and oversees a federal government that spends one-fifth of our Gross Domestic Product. That seems a big enough job without worrying about whether school districts and unions are negotiating performance pay.
