Saturday, May 18, 2019

BERNIE GETS HIGH MARKS FOR HIS EDUCATION PLAN

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has released his Thurgood Marshall education plan and it is the best education program I have seen from a Democratic contender in decades. It looks like he is listening to Diane Ravitch.

Please read it in its entirety.

Bernie is calling for an end to for profit charter schools, a moratorium on new charter schools, full public accountability for charter schools, stronger tenure as well stronger union rights for public school teachers, a $60,000 minimum salary for public school teachers and so much more.

Here is what the education plan says about the wave of teacher strikes that have spread around the USA.

Over the past year, tens of thousands of teachers across the country have gone on strike to demand greater investment in public education. The wave of teacher strikes throughout the country provides an historic opportunity to make the investments we desperately need to make our public education system the best in the industrialized world, not one of the poorest.

There isn't that much not to like. All that is missing is a denunciation of standardized testing and a call for charter schools to be phased out but his charter policy is very favorable.

I would especially like to hear from Middle of the road politically or right wing teachers on why we should not strongly consider backing Sanders based on his education plan.

Before backing anyone officially, of course we should examine what the other Democratic candidates do on public education.  It is finally part of the discussion in the election for president. Sanders' plan is a big step forward.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

UFT will back Biden. Bank on it.

Anonymous said...

If the nominee is Biden, there will be a landslide win for Trump.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, an admitted socialist vs. a proven president with a raging economy? I wonder who who middle America will vote for?

Anonymous said...

Teachers who vote for Trump over Bernie need help. A second term of Trump with a Republican Congress may truly finish off public schools once and for all.

Anonymous said...

Public schools are finished off, not because of trump.

Anonymous said...

Someone puts in a program to actually support us and we shouldn't listen?

Anonymous said...

From Sean Crowley in Bufallo.
If you're a public school teacher and you're not supporting Bernie Sanders right now you are too fucking dumb to teach anybody anything.

Anonymous said...

Another reason to drop out.

Anonymous said...

Not a surprise, this job is toxic for white people. Read the Post. The whites have been completely discriminated against and outnumbered.

James Eterno said...

I saw Sue Edelman's piece on reverse racism. I will try and post when I have time.

Anonymous said...

Since Bernie has no chance of winning the Dem primary (cooler heads realize a socialist is not becoming president of the US this century), why not back somebody who might win? At this point it's looking like Biden so I'd support him until a stronger Dem comes along.

(Note: This is not to suggest Bernie is not teacher-friendly)

Anonymous said...

Why does Bernie consistently do well in head to head polls against Trump?

Anonymous said...

So now that we know that there is discrimination against whites, what will uft do? Where is the rest of the media? Isn't it uncomfortable to be so outnumbered?

Anonymous said...

The Federal government cannot do anything to "fix" education; the Federal government just makes everything worse and wastes a lot of money. America 2000, Goals 2000, No Child Left behind, Race to the Top, Every Student Succeeds Act...When you think that education cannot sink much further, there comes a "new and improved" initiative.

Anonymous said...


"Why does Bernie consistently do well in head to head polls against Trump?
Sunday, May 19, 2019 9:46:00 PM"

No doubt a solid handful of Democratic candidates poll 'well' v Trump at this stage of the game. Trump's unfavorable ratings are relatively high and several candidates (Warren, Biden, Bernie, Harris, etc.) meet or exceed him in head-to-head polls. Bernie and Biden are the best-known candidates (by a pretty wide margin) so one would expect them to match up particularly well v Trump in current polls.
That is separate and apart from a realistic assessment of whether a socialist (who could not defeat a pretty unpopular primary candidate last time out BTW) would stand a chance in a national election this century.

Michael Fiorillo said...

As Anonymous 7:56 correctly stated, if Biden is the Democratic nominee, then Trump gets a second term. Trump is going to be difficult to beat in any case, but he will make mincemeat out of Uncle Joe over student loan debt, the Bankruptcy bill, Biden's subservience to the banking industry, his son's sleazy business dealings in Ukraine, and on and on.

Bernie/Tulsi in 2020... even if they don't win, by getting the nomination, they could clean house and start re-building the Democratic Party into something that actually supports working people again.That's the only thing that has a prayer of preventing another, more competent and even more vicious Trump.

Anonymous said...

Imagine 4 more years of betsy devos if she survives the time.....devos has been so toxic to us all but the good thing is she is shunned by most....however this woman has no conscious and she keeps on going like a stepford wife trying to undermine our public schools and caring about choice and charter schools and her bff moskowitch.

Anonymous said...

This may be irrelevant to many but Bernie would be older his FIRST day in office (79) than Ronald Reagan was on his LAST day (77). (The same is true of Biden who would be 78 when he starts his first term).

Biden, contrasted with Bernie, is seen as actually electable by the Democratic power brokers (although he has been just awful [a complete train wreck/dumpster fire to be more accurate] in all his past disastrous presidential attempts and Trump should have little problem defeating him).

Anonymous said...

Biden's education agenda mentions his wife, but nothing about charters.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/28/joe-biden-2020-k12-education-policy-1296863

Anonymous said...

Here's another article on Biden's ed plan-

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-education-proposal-title-1_n_5ced8dcce4b0793c23468d7f