Another promise thread? [View All]

[teacher gal]

I gladly endorse without reservation Kentuck's promise not to support any Democrat who would undermine social security. And I hope Kentuck and others will forgive me if I'm taking a liberty here that I shouldn't.

I am not naive. I do not expect this thread will get anywhere near the support Kentuck's thread on social security is getting. Indeed, I fully expect numerous "unrecs". That's ok and I welcome discussion, both pro and con.

Nevertheless, I promise that I will not support any Democrat who continues to support policies which undermine, weaken, and privatize public education, wastefully diverting billions into private hands, via NCLB and its stepsister, Race to the Top.

I ask you to consider how the destructive obsession with standards and testing, the tremendous hype about teacher quality, tenure, and those evil teachers' unions (which admittedly need some reform) all serve to divert national attention away from the primary cause of so-called school failure, which is poverty. Poverty and societal ills must be confronted directly.

The corruption and waste, the demoralization and miseducation being brought about by pro-market reforms and data-worship are staggering. Because the stakes are so high, education has been narrowly reduced to test taking and the sorting and ranking of children.

Social security and public education exist for the common good. Well-educated children who have learned to think and question for themselves are far less likely to grow up and be unable to discern propaganda, like the fear-mongering that threatens both social security and public education.

Again, hoping I haven't offended anyone here. Have written in a hurry.

And btw, regardless of the popularity (or lack of) for my promise on education, I'll still stick by my promise not to support candidates who would privatize or undermine social security. Social security is one of the best things that ever happened to this country, in my opinion.