In presidential race, education offers rare common ground
On education, Democrats and Republicans still know who they are. It's just harder this time around to recognize each other.
Stark differences still separate the presidential campaigns, say educators and policy analysts. But a swelling middle ground -- particularly around charter school expansion, teacher performance evaluations and national standards -- has opened significant rifts within the parties.
Consider these voices, for instance:
Here's Andrea Flinders, president of the Kansas City chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. She and her organization are backing President Obama, but this is how she sums up Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's first term:
"It's been a difficult four years for non-charter public schools."
And here's Herman Kriegshauser, the executive director of Missouri's Citizens for Educational Freedom -- an organization allied with Republican nominee Mitt Romney. He'd rather Romney take a stand against the move toward national Common Core Standards for schools, and even eliminate the federal Department of Education altogether.
Said Kriegshauser: "I'd like to see the federal government get out of it."
The lines between supporters and detractors have been fuzzier than usual.
Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/in-presidential-race-education-offers-rare-common-ground/#storylink=cpy
