In the election battle between former Gov. Mitt Romney and President Obama, the writer looks at Obama's record and concludes he's earned a second shot, especially considering how different his policies are from his competitor's. Amid a climate of scarce resources and even scarcer political goodwill, President Obama has taken steps to provide all…

In this paper we consider more than three decades of research on teachers' unions in the United States. Focusing on unions' role in shaping education policy, we argue that collective bargaining and political organizing comprise the two central but distinct forms of influence at the district, state and national levels of decision-making. We note…

Answering the question of how a Romney administration would tackle education requires us to keep three things in mind. First, education is a minor issue in this election and would be a secondary concern for a Republican President focused on economic growth, the deficit, tax cuts, and reversing the Affordable Care Act. Second, there are few stark…

From the White House to Capitol Hill, the winners in this week's elections won't have much time to savor their victories. Even as federal policymakers sort out the political landscape, the remainder of 2012 and the early months of 2013 are likely to be dominated by divisive, unresolved issues with broad consequences for K-12 and higher…

The 2012 presidential election and many state and local races are only a few weeks away, but schools are not doing much to promote student interest in the elections or provide civic education more broadly, new research suggests. A report last week from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), at Tufts…

Congress plans to kick-start the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) this week with the first in a series of hearings in a key House committee, where members pledge a "bipartisan, open, and transparent" process in rewriting the version of the law enacted under President George W. Bush. The finish line…

For more than a century, school boards have endeavored to govern America's schools and school systems. Collectively, the nation's nearly 14,000 school boards are responsible for the well-being of 52 million children, the expenditure of $600 billion per year, and the supervision of six million employees. Despite the magnitude of this…

In this paper, the author outlines what No Child Left Behind policy might mean first in personal then in philosophical terms. First, the author will trace a bit of Obama's own educational development: how he was first set on a personal educational journey and how, proceeding along with that journey, he eventually came to successfully elicit…

In school districts across the nation, voters elect fellow citizens to their local school boards and charge them with the core tasks of district management--hiring administrators, writing budgets, negotiating teacher contracts, and determining standards and curriculum among them. Whatever the task, the basic purpose of all school board activities…

This article presents a speech that Senator Barack Obama delivered in Thornton, Colorado, in May 2008, summarizing his education beliefs and proposals. One of the highlights of Obama's education proposal is fixing the broken promises of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). As President, he will work with the nation's governors and educators to create and…

This article presents speeches describing John McCain's position on education posted on the McCain campaign's official web site, www.johnmccain.com. These include McCain's speech to LaRaza convention, July 14; McCain's speech to the NAACP, July 16; McCain's speech at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center, May 15; and McCain's speech at…

This article reports that education will be on the ballot November 4, even if the subject hasn't been on voters' minds much during the 2008 campaign season. The results of the elections are likely to have a significant impact on the way schools are financed, governed, and held accountable for the academic performance of their students. At the…

In March 2007, more than 400 educators came to Washington, D.C., to show their support and advocate for career and technical education (CTE) as a part of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) National Policy Seminar (NPS). Attendees heard from speakers such as Troy Justesen and Jeffrey Birnbaum, learned about the…

High school teacher Megan Behrent reflects on the impact of Obama's election on the students in her high school classroom. Obliged to temper her students' joyful exuberance on the morning of November 5, 2008, Behrent found that the election fervor highlighted for her the ways that schooling under NCLB has constrained both educators and students,…

Parents, educators, political leaders--all Americans need the information contained in this article. But why this poll? First, it's not just a quick snapshot of public perception. Rather, it is a serious research tool, conducted annually, that allows Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) members and other educators and policy makers to track public opinion from…