CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential Debates
I admit, I do have a few interests beyond education. I'm an avid writer, an eager traveler, and a shameless karaoke singer... But as I enter my first presidential election after joining the world of education, I can't help but obsess over the ed bits in news...
Which is why, from an educator's perspective, Monday night's CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential Debates was lame. Clearly, I'm biased (and not entirely telling the truth-- there were other parts of the debate I found more interesting). But why weren't there more meaningful questions on education? Anderson Cooper asked the candidates three questions contributed by YouTubers focused on the subject:
1) Who was your favorite teacher and why? (Response: About 250 words)
2) Scrap or keep NCLB? (Response: About 300 words)
3) Whether they send their children to public or private schools (Response: About 700 words).
Lame questions deserve lame responses. The private/public school question scored more debate among the candidates than the first two combined! Is this the way education is going to be handled for the rest of the election period?
Comments
There were a number of lame questions asked at the debate. Perhaps the questions on education are based on the inability for many Americans to question and debate about how we want to educated our children and what we define as a valuable curriculum.
Posted by: T Nelson | July 27, 2007 2:55 PM