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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Where’s the ‘collective action’ in Obama education policy?

Where’s the ‘collective action’ in Obama education policy?:


Where’s the ‘collective action’ in Obama education policy?

(by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
(by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
President Obama’s second term now officially begins, and in his inaugural address he spoke about the need for “collective action” to solve America’s problems. Here’s an argument that his own education policies have violated that principle, with suggestions on what he can do to remedy that. This was written by Arthur H. Camins, director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
By Arthur H. Camins
In his 2013 Inaugural Address, President Obama issued a call for “collective action,” arguing forcefully that we cannot “meet the demands of today’s world” by acting alone. “Now, more than ever,” he said, “we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.”  But, this is not the philosophy that guides education policy today. Bill Clinton nailed the policy choice starkly in his speech at the Democratic National Convention in