It is evident that the topic of education is an important one. The very first question in the second presidential debate was asked by a 20-year-old college student who sought reassurance about his ability to find employment and sufficient support after graduation.
It was then surprisingly revisited in the third presidential debate concerning foreign policy. Even though the moderator ended the debate with his statement, “I think we all love teachers,” it is clear that Obama and Romney show their love for teachers and education in different ways.
Where they differ, again, is in the scope of the involvement of the federal government, and what educational responsibilities fall under the federal budget and those of the individual states.
With the signature federal education law, the No Child Left Behind Act, already up for renewal, the next president will have to make important decisions about what role the federal government should play in educating our nation’s children.
Their differences are also apparent in the candidates’ positions on public broadcasting. After the first debate, President Obama criticized Mitt Romney for pointing to Big Bird as an example of unnecessary government spending. Big Bird is a character on Sesame Street, which is broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service.
President Obama supports continuing to fund public broadcasting, which takes up a very small percentage of the federal budget. Democrats argue that public broadcasting helps provide educational programming for children.
Republicans point to the subsidies as an obvious way to reduce government spending in an era of record federal budget deficits.
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Click the links below to read the opposing viewpoints:
Romney: schooling and spending should be left mostly to state-by-state basis
