An Interesting Resource

http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2007/01/nclb-blasted.html

First of all I haven't done much reasearch yet so it was cool to find out that "Education Secretary Margaret Spellings released the changes the administration wants in the 5-year-old education law, up for renewal this year. A second proposal would allow students in failing public schools to apply for a $4,000 religious or private school voucher."

He continues:

• “President Bush has clearly decided to invite partisan bickering rather than bipartisan progress,” said American Federation of Teachers President Edward McElroy. “Every minute spent debating a voucher proposal means less time for making needed changes to a law that has been long on promise and short on progress.”
  Baltimore Teachers Union spokesman David Barney said Tuesday that the union would support the AFT’s position.
  “Vouchers would shift resources and the best students, but what about the kids left behind,” Baltimore County School Board President Donald Arnold said. “The biggest thing we need to do is bring all the schools up to the top-performing levels.”
  With school board leaders from Harford, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties, Arnold met with Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., Tuesday at noon in his Capital Hill office to discuss the No Child Left Behind reauthorization.
  Arnold would like to see the current law changed to designate an entire school as failing, even if only one small subgroup of students misses the adequate yearly progress marks. Ruppersberger said he’s more concerned about fully funding the legislation.

So yeah, it was cool to see where education might be going, and this guy just had alot of fresh perspective.

I especially found interesting that vouchers is automatically a bi-partisan issue. It seems like it could be very true if you first think, christians want their private schools at less cost, or, a few resources presented vouchers as benefitting the rich. At any I the fact that it is only $4000 could be part of an attempt at bi-partisan progress.

I also didn't know the actual voucher proposal being looked at was limited to failing schools. I'm not sure how this effects the arguements I've seen.