Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 5, 2008 McCAIN ON EDUCATION

John McCain delivered his acceptance speech last night...a speech crafted to resurrect his image as a maverick...a speech promising CHANGE if he is elected president.

Well, in the field of education...it's same old same old.

To the hoots and hollers of those assembled, John McCain took a few brief moments to slap public education around and repeat the mantra of the Bush administration...

Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.

When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it to them. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I’m President, they will.

Some things NEVER change...