From the White House:
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
Presidential Proclamation — National Charter Schools Week, 2013
NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS WEEK, 2013
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
America’s success in the 21st century depends on what we do today to reignite the true engine of our economic growth: a thriving middle class. Achieving that vision means making sure our education system provides ladders of opportunity for our sons and daughters. We need to equip all our students with the education and skills that put them on the path to good jobs and a bright future — no matter where they live or what school they attend.
Charter schools play an important role in meeting that obligation. These learning laboratories give educators the chance to try new models and methods that can encourage excellence in the classroom and prepare more of our children for college and careers. In return for this flexibility, we should expect high standards and accountability, and make tough decisions to close charter schools that are underperforming and not improving. But where charter schools demonstrate success and exceed expectations, we should share what they learn with other public schools and replicate those that produce dramatic results. Many charter schools choose to locate in communities with few high-quality educational options, making them an important partner in widening the circle of opportunity for students who need it most.
Our children are ready to write the next great chapter in the American story. As parents and teachers and citizens, it is up to all of us to provide them the tools they need to keep our country moving forward — from a degree that leads to a good job to the critical thinking skills that make our democracy thrive. This week, we recognize charter schools that are advancing those goals, and we recommit to helping our Nation’s children go as far as their talents will take them.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 5 through May 11, 2013, as National Charter Schools Week. I commend our Nation’s charter schools, teachers, and administrators, and I call on States and communities to support charter schools and the students they serve.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA
side of the President.
I didn’t give him anything but my vote in 2012, and I won’t give any money to OFA. Issue after issue, he’s just a “New Democrat.” We desperately need an “old” Democrat. I’d take FDR, Truman, JFK, or LBJ.
I find myself torn and wonder if there is another appropriate label. It may be the times that change. Right now I’m very much a New Dealer and feel we need a strong case for the public sector and deficit spending. OTOH I also became a huge fan of Bill Clinton and see his presidency as very successful in the peace and prosperity departments.
and I don’t agree. I have never liked Bill Clinton much and he’s proving me right the last couple of weeks by shilling for Simpson-Bowles. The “prosperity” during the Clinton years was not very evenly spread. Wall Street, etc., raked in huge money while people at the bottom struggled to scrape by. Only in ’97-’99 do you see a small uptick in the trend under which the bottom 60% sees its real income go down. By the time Bush II came in the poorest 20% were on their way back down again.
The dismantling of the middle class that began with the outsourcing of union manufacturing jobs continued apace with the “downsizing” of middle management. My dad lost his job in late ’95 and didn’t find anything remotely decent for more than four years. Even then he was lucky – an old colleague hired him.
Clinton was a beneficiary of being the right place at the right time. For all the scorn we heap on Bush II, Clinton’s people were all over Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Not to mention Clinton’s shameful Dick Morris-inspired campaign year of 1996. DOMA, AEDPA, welfare “reform” all in the same year. It was my first presidential election and I’m very, very proud I didn’t vote for Clinton.
Given this how strongly this man has stood against banks cheating regular folks, I’d figure he’d be equally vigorous against the charter cheat.
Secure from battle stations, Mr Worf.
I don’t know how many other BMGers were swayed by neo-liberalism during the Clinton years. I certainly was. A Democratic President was only possible if he was some sort of conservative, and neo-liberalism was the Democrats ideological response to movement conservatism. Liberalism was largely a shambles. Clinton was formed by and helped shape his times. He should be no surprise.
Obama is very bright, but he’s no intellectual as far as I can tell. At least not in his politics. He doesn’t seem to be guided by any deep, abiding principles. He speeches certainly don’t seem to suggest any.
Obama’s also a reflection of his times. He’s a manager, not a leader or visionary. He takes things as they are and tries to make them run better. He doesn’t question their fundamental design. Managerialism is the ideological curse of our generation, and Obama embodies it, though he probably doesn’t think about it:
This is education reform in an abstract nutshell.