Lectures - July 2008

Education and the 2008 Election

In July 2008, Wayne participated as a keynote speaker in the annual convention for the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association for Secondary School Principals. A follow up to his speech for the Learning First Alliance, Wayne’s Principal’s Speech once again addresses the current state of the Republican Party.

“I served in the White House under Richard Nixon, who resigned with the lowest public approval ratings in the history of the American Presidency. I knew when I left that I had been part of something historic—something great--the most loathed and disliked presidency in history. I knew this was a record that would stand for centuries—a towering achievement in American public policy---and now---George W. Bush---.”

With low housing values, foreclosures, and a banking and credit crisis, Americans are increasingly losing hope. In addition, our country’s international popularity is laughable. Democrats are motivated and financially prepared to wage war for control of Congress and the White House. As sated earlier in his LFA speech, Wayne believes that education will be a major issue for the incoming president and the 111th Congress to combat.

“First, because housing and finance are in near collapse, taxes and therefore public revenues from these industries will continue to fall precipitously. States, counties, cities, and localities will be strapped for funds. Your union brethren: police, fire, nurses, and other public employees are going to be in competition with you for increasingly scarce dollars.

Campaigns for higher starting teacher salaries, state and local funding and your many other needs will be under major financial pressure. This situation will last for at least two years, and probably longer.

Second, whether fairly, or unfairly, there is a strong impression that too many public school students are still underachieving. Too many 4th grade African-American and Hispanic children are not making the grade in reading. In math, only a minority of African-American and Hispanic 8th graders are proficient. So, although more members of the next Congress, and probably the next President, will be sympathetic to changing No Child Left Behind, you will not be able to jettison all the testing and accountability provisions in NCLB’s successor legislation. I think you’ve won the debate over amending the act, but you’re going to have to carefully target your efforts at its reform. You must do a lot more refining of your asks.”

Though a forefront issue, education will come second to some of the immediate crisis we face as a nation, and so Wayne warns the education community to organize, and be ready to lobby for their issues.

“My strong advice, get your big objectives done in 2009. Democrats will have a one year honeymoon. Then it will get very tough. Democrats will not—NOT—be able to finish up the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They will not be able to get gasoline prices down. They will not be able to solve healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and fix the housing and financial markets all within one calendar year. And education will get its turn only behind these other priorities. So, don’t waste valuable political capital trying to take someone else’s rather small lunch. Do get your ducks in a row. Work together for common objectives. Get your own coalition in order.”

Back to Lectures Page

Website Design by Clark & Yates, LLC