Parents play vital roles in their children鈥檚 education, John McCain and Barack Obama agree.
But the presidential candidates disagree on what a president should do to encourage parents to choose and participate in the educational experiences of their children.
In several stump speeches this year, Sen. Obama of Illinois, the Democratic nominee, has shown that he would use the presidency to urge parents to be actively involved in their children鈥檚 educational development, and to encourage them to create home environments that promote learning experiences and supervise homework.
鈥淏ut, in the end, responsibility for our children鈥檚 success doesn鈥檛 start in Washington,鈥� Sen. Obama said last month in a speech outlining his K-12 agenda, which includes increasing the number of public charter schools. 鈥淚t starts in our homes. It starts in our families.鈥�
Sen. McCain, who hasn鈥檛 highlighted parental responsibility in his campaign, focuses instead on his proposal to expand parents鈥� ability to choose the schools their children attend.
鈥淲hen a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children,鈥� the Arizona senator said in his Sept. 4 accepting the Republican presidential nomination. 鈥淎nd I intend to give it to them.鈥�
The differences between the two candidates suggest that a McCain administration would focus on the issue of school choice to bolster parents鈥� roles in the educational process, while an Obama presidency would go past the choice debate and try to change parental behaviors to ensure students are excelling in schools and to provide them with detailed reports of how schools are performing.
Cosby鈥檚 Message
Sen. Obama鈥檚 rhetoric is similar to the comedian Bill Cosby鈥檚 calls for African-Americans to closely monitor and encourage their children鈥檚 educational development, but it doesn鈥檛 include Mr. Cosby鈥檚 criticisms of some African-American cultural norms. (鈥淎t Invitation of Chicago Public Schools, Bill Cosby Gives Parenting Advice,鈥� Dec. 7, 2006.)
鈥淥bama has the credibility in communities that would benefit the most from that message,鈥� said Clint Bolick, the litigation director of the Goldwater Institute, a free-market think tank based in Phoenix.
As president, Sen. Obama could 鈥渄isplace, if not supplant, the role models in the African-American community,鈥� Mr. Bolick said, mentioning hip-hop artists and sports stars, who often emphasize artistic and athletic abilities over educational achievement.
But Sen. Obama鈥檚 rhetorical efforts are insufficient, said Mr. Bolick, who spearheaded litigation resulting in the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring vouchers for religious schools to be permissible under the U.S. Constitution.
鈥淥bama鈥檚 education proposals overlook the most important thing that would involve parents in their children鈥檚 education, and that is to give them the power to choose their children鈥檚 school,鈥� said Mr. Bolick, who is supporting Sen. McCain. 鈥淭o that extent, the rhetoric is a little bit empty.鈥�
But parent advocates who oppose vouchers say such choices are an incomplete response because parents don鈥檛 have enough adequate information to make an informed choice between public schools and private ones.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have enough information to compare schools within districts, let alone [private] schools that are not held accountable鈥� under federal and state systems, said Todd Haiken, the manager of public policy for the National PTA, the Chicago-based group representing community-based committees of parents and teachers supporting individual schools.
Rhetorical Flourish
The differences in the candidates鈥� emphasis on parental roles in education may simply be a reflection of their speaking styles.
鈥淣o education policy can replace a parent who鈥檚 involved in their child鈥檚 education from day one, who makes sure their children are in school on time, helps them with their homework after dinner, and attends those parent-teacher conferences,鈥� Sen. Obama said in the Sept. 9 in Riverside, Ohio. 鈥淣o government program can turn off the TV, or put away the video games, or read to your children.鈥�
Sen. Obama鈥檚 鈥渞hetorical style lends itself to discussing things like that,鈥� said Don Soifer, a legislative analyst for the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based free-market think tank. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a style you see from McCain.鈥�
In contrast, Sen. McCain has been 鈥渧ery forceful in his language鈥� in asserting that the federal government should offer parents a broader ability to choose schools for their children, said Mr. Soifer, a school choice supporter.
But the rhetorical differences also are reflected in their policy proposals. Sen. Obama鈥檚 K-12 proposals are longer and more expansive than Sen. McCain鈥檚, which are targeted at school choice and improving teacher quality.
Beyond Sen. Obama鈥檚 exhortations to parents to improve how they monitor their children鈥檚 education, the Democrat鈥檚 education plan includes a little-noticed promise to create reports for parents on the educational progress of their students. The quarterly documents would tell parents whether a child is achieving at grade level and is on pace to graduate from high school; list available after-school, summer, tutoring, and other programs; identify other public schools that he or she could attend; and project the cost of a college education for the child.
鈥淭he information in these report cards would be very important for families,鈥� said Sue Ferguson, the chairwoman of the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education, a Washington group that includes the national teachers鈥� unions and the National PTA.
鈥淥ne of the major problems is ... people don鈥檛 have enough information on how the system works and what鈥檚 available,鈥� she added.
But such information would be incomplete without listing the option to attend private schools and offering support for it, Mr. Bolick said.
Private schools can offer 鈥渧alues and religious education鈥� and 鈥渟trong and consistently enforced disciplinary standards,鈥� he said. Charter schools can do some of those things, but they don鈥檛 offer all of the options that should be available to parents, he added.
Mr. Bolick compared U.S. charter schools to perestroika鈥攖he Soviet Union鈥檚 economic and political reforms, beginning in 1986, that led to the downfall of Communism by the end of the decade.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get to real glasnost until you extend choice to private schools,鈥� Mr. Bolick said.
