All Education is Local

As we usher in 2008 we can expect the debate surrounding public education to escalate, especially as we come closer to the general election in November. While candidates and teacher's unions will rip apart No Child Left Behind, and will offer up their own plans as to how to fix our educational system, I wonder if the public really cares.

Politicians are extremely poll-driven. In order to get an idea as to where the debate is going to go, I took a look at the most recent public opinion polls to see where education registered in the minds and hearts of voters. I was surprised.

Education didn't register.

In the most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal and CBS/New York Times polls (mid-December), education didn't even appear as an issue. The war in Iraq, healthcare, job creation, illegal immigration, terrorism, the cost of gas and the environment were the top issues. In fact, in going back through polling in 2007, education last appeared in the polls in October (CBS News Poll), and again in July (CBS). And in both of those polls education didn't crack the top 3 issues.

So, why is this important? Polling - which is merely public opinion - shapes the debate. It tells us that one of two things is true: a) Americans don't place a priority on public education, or b) Americans don't care if politicians care about education.

I think Americans do care about education, but I don't think they care if politicians really care.

There's an old saying that "All politics are local", which means that people care most about what's happening in their backyard and in their pocketbook.  In a recent survey done by Project Tomorrow, an organization devoted to making education a priority in this next election, 52% of parents do not think their schools are doing a good job preparing our children to compete for jobs and careers in the 21st century. Education is a backyard issue, it's an issue that affects every parent and every employer in America.

While No Child Left Behind has had a national impact, it's being proven time and again that controlling education from a national level isn't necessarily effective. In fact, during the eight years of NCLB, parents and employers are still deeply concerned that our schools are failing our children. While test scores may have improved a little, passing tests don't score jobs, or prepare kids for a career.

I think parents intuitively know this, and know that national politics won't change what's really important. While a national election will have an impact on the war in Iraq and on healthcare, congress hasn't really made a difference in the school-rooms across America.

So, does the election really matter? Absolutely. And it's the election in our communities for positions on school boards and superintendents of education. It matters in state elections for state education positions. These positions matter because it is from these offices that the needs of our children can be best met.

A local school board and the state office of education have more influence on the education of our children than does the President of the United States of America. And these are the politicians that parents and those interested in education should pay attention to. A parent may never be able to ask a national candidate a question about education, but they can certainly interview local candidates. And, for the sake of our kids, we should do just that.

The primary questions we should be asking are these:

• Are you satisfied with the quality of education our schools are providing?
• What will you do to ensure schools are responding to the real-world needs of local employers?
• What measures will you take to ensure that children receive individual learning plans?
• How will you ensure children are trained to be life-long learners?
• How hard will you fight to ensure that these measures are taken seriously and implemented?
• Do you favor school choice? Do you support charter schools?
• What will you do to make sure my child is prepared to enter the 21st century world of employment?

These are the important questions we need to ask our local school board candidates and those running for higher local and state offices.

We just need to keep in mind that when we think about politics, "All education is local".