Natalie Gonnella
Yesterday, in his State of the Union address, President Obama stressed that educational success begins at home:
That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child.
However, many parents are denied the opportunity to fulfill this commitment due to poor quality schools and lack of options - something many GOP education reform advocates have recognized.
In a recent survey, "when asked to assign a letter grade to the overall quality of public education in the US" nearly two thirds of participants ranked American school with a mark of C or lower, with only 5% of respondents giving US public education an A.
In response, parents, politicians and education professionals are recognizing National School Choice Week, an advocacy effort designed to promote "effective education options" for all children in response to current failings in many public education systems.
Throughout the country this week, school choice supporters are holding local meetings, rallies, and online forums to highlight the growing need for effective reform and access to choices to ensure every American child a chance at success: including public charter schools, magnet schools, virtual education, homeschooling, tax credit scholarships, and opportunity scholarship,
With many Republicans already pushing for school choice in both their local communities and on the national level, a number have made a point to speak out in support of the NSCW campaign:
A longtime supporter of educational choice, John Boehner said in support of this week's initiative :
I am all in for National School Choice Week. I always believed that parents are best equipped to know their childrens needs, and for that reason, parents should be empowered to select the best learning environment for their children. Congress needs to open up the education system to include all forms of school choice…by restricting parents choices we only harm our children’s future.
To coincide with NSCW, Governor Jan Brewer, announced Arizona's first website "aimed at helping parents navigate the education options available to them for their children."
Fellow Arizonan Senator John McCain joined Governor Brewer in support of NSCW, commenting that:
I support school choice because I believe every parent ought to be able to choose what the best education is for their children.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett issued a proclamation in honor of NSCW:
Every child in Pennsylvania deserves a challenging, motivating, effective education...School choice isn't about choosing one model over another. It's about giving families the freedom to choose the school – public, private, charter, religious, secular – that will help their children learn and grow. Every child is different – which is why families should have a range of options for how to educate their children
In support of NSCW Newt Gingrich, commented that:
It is very important for parents and students to know how their school is performing and have a right to pick a school that is appropriate for that particular child.
One of the first state executives to embrace the idea of school choice, former Governor Jeb Bush said in support of NSCW:
I support school choice because I believe every child should have the opportunity to receive the education which best fits their learning style.
Information on NSCW events can be found here.
It is ironic that these men are making comments about education. Take what JEB Bush said....." they should have an opportunity to receive the education that best fits their learning styles." That is actually exactly what Public schools did. They taught children to learn through " their" learning style until "The NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LAW was introduce to America. I am an educator and this is a total slap in the face. You politicians just want to claim to fix things when you really just break things.
Posted by: Bradley Gray | April 9, 2011 at 04:48 PM