EDUCATION and POLITICS

Like many educators, I tended -perhaps naively - to regard public education as a non-political arena. I now realize that while, in many districts, candidates for election to Boards of Education are non-partisan (no stated party affiliation), the process by which we determine the structure and funding of our school system is inherently a political process. Which is as it should be, given the importance of public education to the functioning of our society. Therefore, I have gradually shifted from the attitude of an educator who votes for candidates hoping they will do their best to further public education, to a civic activist who believes that it is vitally important for all of us to work to elect the candidates we believe are most likely to further the cause of quality education and then to provide feedback to those elected officials while they are serving, especially if we feel they are not making the best decisions regarding our educational systems. I see no reason why I should not be very vigorous in supporting the campaigns of those I believe will do the best job regarding education. And I have come to view it as an extension of my career as an educator to attempt to educate the voting public who - for whatever reason(s) - have not informed theselves on these issues.

Last modified: Monday, November 20, 2006