The candidates on education / So far, not much more than sound bites and silence
Editorial/San Diego Union Tribune
This is a critically important time for education policy in California. A swelling population, dwindling state revenue, more international competition for students, and some encouraging chatter from the Obama administration about holding teachers accountable for student performance all tell us the same thing: the next governor must make education reform a top priority. The trouble is, at least at this point, none of the major gubernatorial candidates – state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, or Attorney General Jerry Brown — passes the test. Poizner has earned the ire of Latino activists for comments he made in a new memoir of the year he spent teaching at the largely Latino campus of Mount Pleasant High School in East San Jose. (more...)