CNN

The solution to Education is the same as the solution to most of the other problems that we currently face. FREEDOM. Allow the public schools to compete with Charter School and a Voucher system. Some of you are afraid of "corporations" I am afraid of government monopolies and the Public School systems along with the teachers unions that hold the status quo are just that. In the effort to make things fair lets not hold back the kids who have parents that are interested in getting them into private schools, charter schools etc.

Raymond Duke - are you related to David Duke?

After Hurricane Katrina, BUSH said he would NOT ALLOW price gouging. Then the gas prices started jumping by leaps & bounds while he made all sorts of excuses why. (& got richer). But even if it's the President allowing it, IT'S STILL PRICE GOUGING!
I remember the last time we had a gas shortage (I believe in the 70's),there was a FREEZE put on gas prices. Why can't that happen again?

Its not just the schools and teachers that are failing, its the children and the families that attend the schools. A wholescale transition to private schools of that dysfunctional part of the public education customer pool will: 1) negatively affect the private schools, and cause them to reject the dysfunction as they are allowed to do, thus returning the dysfunctional customers back to the public school; and 2) in the meantime, bleed our tax money away from the public system which clearly needs it. The dems are CORRECT: vouchers are no longterm solution.

The voucher issue shows once again why the right is intellectually bankrupt: they are in it for the "quick fix", and have no stomach for building long term solutions, and that is true for just about every policy issue. People should note that such behavior leans much more to the 'reactionary' than to the conservative. The fact that Mr. Martin would like to and other [R]s do call themselves conservative is quite the mis-nomer.

Susie, now you know and every body else know with just a little common sence that Sen Obama will debate him under the table Sen Obama is more educated and has a lot more common sence than Sen McCain why would you want to put your boy in an embarrasing position, I really can't wait I always find a good laugh when he's trying to talk in front of people, poor thing, he gets so confused like he did on that Viagra question, now that was an easy question, my 16 year old could have answered that with no problem.

Wow, this must have made you wince, to say that McCain is right on anything.

I saw McCain at the NAACP yesterday and was impressed. He was humble, and the members fo the NAACP were respectful.

Obama talks about change, but McCain is the real deal for new politics.

NFIL
NotFallingInLine.org

Vouchers are not the answer. All they do is pay for a student to fail only to come back to the same school where the child left. Why pay for a childs voucher only to have to pay for him or her again to come back to the same failing schools? Fix the schools.

The problem with the voucher system is that it will not fix the education system for the average family. It will only save money for higher income families and allow a few more middle income kids to go to private school.

The voucher in many cases would not cover the whole cost of education at a private school. So what would happen is that those that could afford to pay a little extra would move their kids to the private school. On the other hand those that could not afford a little extra would be forced to leave their kids in the now resource deprived public school. This would only enhance the wealth gap crisis that we have in this country which would further divide us into the haves and have nots.

Lets call it what it is, school vouchers are a governmental financed 'white flight' way out of the intergrated public school system. America doesnt need them. I dont like my kid being around unmotivated kids either.Besides they come in all colors. Why dont we just fix and fund what we got, hold teachers and students accountable, and all live together as AMERICANS!
I 'd bet the farm that if vouchers were given out , those elite schools you want me to pay for with my tax money , would start REDLINING the enrollies! All us AMERICANS need to stop this ugly devisive behavior.

The real danger to the educational system is privatization, and not the traditional private schools we think of and the vouchers you'd use to pay for it. Rather, there will be a movement for municipalities to hire private companies to run schools modeled on public schools, much like states have increased dependence on private prison companies. We’ve seen that the privatization of public systems fail, yet the privatization movement is steadily gaining momentum.

When it starts to come up as an option in your city, think about the private prisons, and the private contractors in Iraq, like Blackwater or Halliburton. They’re only motivated by profit; although their press releases and company mottos stress the “commitment” they have to their projects, they’re only concerned with making money. The prisoners and solders are not humans to them, they’re units. Our children are their next product. They won’t care about the education our kids receive any more than Halliburton cares about our soldiers.

Don't worry Roland Martin, Obama has changed his stance on every issue. Just wait.....he will change his mind on this one too. It's just a matter of time. He'll say WHATEVER it takes to get elected! Don't forget he is called the flip flop king for a reason.

Roland, Is the Kool-aid effect wearing off? Someone just called looking for you, saying you're missed at the Obama cult line. LOL

Here is what no one is talking about. Private school don't have any standard they need to follow, this includes hiring teachers. People who teach at private schools do not need any training to become teachers, they can hire any one off the street.

I've always felt that the Democratic party is on the wrong side of this issue.

Vouchers doesn't mean to stop funding public schools. A voucher need not cover the entire cost of a private education, just part. Also vouchers can be structured to only go to middle and lower income families. Those families would have to pay some of the costs for private education.

It gives people a choice, it creates competition for public schools, it gives lower income people the opportunity to attend private schools.

H Charles, I am a Black American Woman and if I didn't know any better I would take what you said as an insult, I was always at PTA, and teachers meetings,Boyscouts and his baseball games but it sounds like from what you said you have a lot more experience and not showing up for your kids PTA etc. and don't put all Black Americans not African Americans in the same boat because it was a lot of whites that did not show up for PTA or Boyscouts I know because I offered a few of the kids(white) a ride home.

Martin, ever watched that movie "Lean On Me"? Joe Clark, the principal was brought in to a failing public school. He challenged the teachers, the students, and the board. The rest is history. Tests improved and this is a true story type movie. Improve failing inner city schools by providing new facilities with up-to-date technology to be at par with any suburban school. Challenge students and teachers and parents. Believe me, every public school will succeed if you do that. Taking money in form of vouchers exacerbates the problem and solves nothing. I respectfully disagree with you.

Even I'm not voting for Barack. But don't tell him. He thinks he's special.

Roland for VP

angry angry hippo July 17th, 2008 2:30 pm ET wrote:

school choice – YES. but public schools. giving money to religious schools is just wrong.

Wrong for you, maybe, and that's okay as religious freedom (including total freedom from religion) is guaranteed in the constitution.

However, some of us disagree and prefer to have a religious perspective there to reinforce moral standards. My son goes to a Catholic School because they are very strict and don't tolerate a lot of the behavior that you see in public schools. They have next to no disruptions and the playground is peaceful.

Vouchers for private religious schools is a scam! Alot of these schools don't even have qualified teachers. Just because you teach the prayer and the bible it don't make you qualified. This is all the same faith based scam Bush has pushed.

Roland is dillusional to think that running away from the problem is a solution. Maybe the goverment should start investing in the infrastructure of inner schools and give "everyone" a chance.

This is all a croc!

Vouchers allow ignorant parents to send their children to schools with empirically inferior science programs that endorse "Intelligent Design". This is damaging to the minds of our youth in that it distorts the scientific method and allows for grey areas in their understanding of the world around us.

The education of our children is too important to allow ignorant parents to have their children taught such foolishness, and that is exactly what vouchers are for: Enabling parental ignorance.

Creationism is a joke and Intelligent Design is not science. It is a travesty that we do not have a comprehensive science program to launch our youth into being the designers of tomorrow's dreams.

Have to disagree that the best way to get kids good education is by pulling them from public schools. Part of the "education" children get in public schools is the socialization and "learning to learn", learning to make good decisions. I believe these options are removed or at least severely limited when parents supplant kids from their peers, neighbors, communities, to put them in charter schools. To my thinking, and from what I've seen to-date, charter schools smack of homegeneous-ness, and no one ever learns much from folks who are exactly like them. The answer is not abandoning the public schools, but investing in them! It will take some time, but improving schools could become a community's "project" if they saw the government/powers-that-be investing some in their schools and their neighborhoods.

I don't believe it! You actually disagree with Obama on something! Now this is news!

Obama's education plan is no different then Bush's. He believes in vouchers and merit pay for teachers. Anyone who knows or lives with a teacher as I do knows that neither of these are good options. Obama is out of touch and he is also a liar and a hypocrite. Anyone still supporting him has junk for brains.

My vote will go to McCain if he is on the top of the ticket. He is just the presumptuous nominee right now. Anything can happen between now and August.

Puma Power

OMG – Hades must of frozen over this morning because I'm agreeing with this guy for the first time ever.

However, no amount of private schooling will make up for the fact that a lot of inner-city parents don't stress the importance of education, reading, studying, homework, etc. If they did, their children could still get a good education.

It isn't the "schools" that are failing, it's the kids in them. There is no excuse for the vast majority of children to not be reading at grade level. If parents limited video/TV time and made their kids do their homework the kids' achievement scores would skyrocket.

Don't blame the schools. Blame the parents!

Are you asking to fix the school or are you asking for handouts?

Everyone must be held accountable but handouts is not the way to do it.

Thank you Roland. Everyone makes mistakes and I think you're the best commentator.

OBAMA 08

Our public education system is suppose to be equal...IT IS NOT!

I suggest everyone read the book "The Shame of the Nation" by Jonathan Kozol. He does a much better job of outlining the specific injustices taking place in our educational system TODAY

My disappointment with this, as a teacher, is neither candidate has the knowledge or respect for what true professional educators do. If either did, the discussion would be much different.

Roland,
You know I love your commentary, but the answer is not to allow people to leave "failing" schools necessarily as it is to FIX those failing schools so the students don't have to leave. Give the inner city and failing schools the funding they need. There is no reason why schools in inner city Chicago don't have text books. It's about money, not running off to another school or school district.

Oh my – Roland Martin criticized Obama. Mark that down – it probably won't happen again. I believe Roland Martin is wrong – We need to fix our education system. We are getting further behind – look at the drop-out rate. It is going up. We are behind in math and the sciences. It needs to be overhauled.

The real problem with the educational system today is the unequal distribution of money. In NY there are 2 districts relatively near each other and the starting pay in district a is double that of district b. What happens is new teachers take the job in district b – the poorer district – and then ASAP move to district a. This means district b is dealing with constant turnover and young, inexperienced teachers.

In addition, district b is located in a poor urban area so the students of district b are dealing with the stresses of growing up in poverty and then attending a poverty school.

Instead of vouchers why not equal out the funds for each district? Currently districts are funded largely based on property value – poor districts don't get as much money. The same two districts in NY – district a spends double per pupil than district b. Oh and guess what district has more success with fundraising? District a.

Currently our schools are just as segregated as in the 1950's; so race is an issue. Poor, inner city school suffer the most.

John McCain obviously doesn't get the above FACTS!
CONT…

Mr. Martin, I regret reading that you feel vouchers are part of the solution to our national education mess. All of our public schools should be brought up to (across-the-board) standards that requires them (K-12) to be structurally sound and safe, environmentally inspiring (like painted walls without holes in them), have new or barely used books (per subject), amply supplied libraries and reference material, outdoor areas for exercise (like recess) qualified teachers (all certified), and pay scales that make them more competitive. The condition of our school system is based primarily on revenue generated from property (residential and commercial) value/taxes, and other resources within each community, and the support of some government funding (local, state and federal). Why is it, when those resources (mostly higher income individuals/industry) leave the community or are dramatically reduced, those that remain (mostly lower income individuals) are expected to do and achieve the same as others did when more revenue was available. Everyone is responsible for this mess (you, me, parents, school boards and the governments). It makes me sick to my stomach to see how we’ve abandoned our children. Every child in this United States of America is ours and represents us, and truly deserves the best we can offer. Let us not forget, that we are only as strong as our weakest link. So please don't use the vouchers as a scapegoat. Thank you.

I'm a teacher and a mother. Taking money out of the public schools and giving it to private schools...bad idea. It's a destructive cycle. Good schools need resources. Take money from them, and parents will not want to send their children to these schools, then these schools will lose their resources and so on and so forth. Public education would best be served by fully funding it and giving it what it need to thrive.

How about fixing the problems with public schools instead of running away from them? This is the problem with public schools. Everyone is always looking for alternative instead of taking on the problem. But it takes effort from everyone, including the PARENTS. What are the parents of these inner-city and problematic schools doing to bring about solutions? Vouchers are not the answer. It will be a dividing factor of public schooling.

Obama sure did trash Bill Clinton and his presidency and his actions.

I thought Obama thought that spouses were OFF limits.

Obama is a big hypocrit- do unto others but they can not do the same unto me.

Because EVERY child deserves a good education in a safe environment. Not just the ones whose parents are articulate enough to go throught the process of applying for vouchers. Vouchers are a band-aid only afforded to those who's parents are thoughtful enough. We all know that anyone can be a parent. Kids shouldn't have to suffer because of that. Fix all the schools and hold them and teachers accountable.

Roland, I disagree with you. I am a retired teacher who was educated in the public school system and also taught in the system. My parents many years ago moved into a neighborhood so that my brother, sisters and I would have the advantage of a good public education. I worked, we finished college and went on with professional careers. I believe that the only way every child in this nation gets the same opportunity that was afforded my siblings and myself, is through a good public education.
Don't start to believe that my having voucher will allow students to enter many schools. The hue of their skin, the neighborhood where they live, their last name will stop many from such an education.
The only way is through a good local, state and federal public education system

The voucher system does not mean a private school with families paying hefty tuition will take you. They are still a private school and exempt from many mandates. Our private schools are mostly filled with wealthy families and families who will pay the tuition rather than have their kid "stigmatized" because of their special needs, specifically ADD. Private schools thrive because of money. Vouchers don't balance their budgets. Sounds like a good but fails to fix the public school problem.

Funny how the very same people who were filthy, vulgar, vile in their hatred of Hillary... and who were supporting the rants of Michelle Obama and Rev Wright- all in the name of freedom of speech.

Now, those SAME people are claiming that Obama and his wife should be respected and NOT criticized.

What about paracticing what you preach? What about showing some respect to ALL Americans- including the Clintons, the McCains and their supporters?

How about fair play- meaning it is okay to criticize the Obamas in the same exact same way that Hillary was carved and gutted and trashed by the media.

I'm sorry Roland, but, on this one I disagree. I am African American and I live in a the rural south. Vouchers will not benefit children in my neck of the woods. As it is the children out here has to leave home between 5:00-5:30 a.m. just to get to school between 7:30-8:00 a.m. They have to take the school buses to school. These parents do not have transporation to get their kids to a different school. If vouchers are approved take my word for it, they will not benefit my neck of the woods. I say we need to do something to improve all of the schools. I grew up in NJ and I had a great education. What happened? Here is something else to chew on, McCain and the Republicans could care less about my children, if vouchers are ever approved they will find a way to keep them in their neighborhoods. I was born at night but not LAST NIGHT!

This should have been done yrs ago. Look at the terrible drop out rate in this country or kids that graduate and can't do basic math or barely read. This idea has been around for yrs. It is past it's time to enact it. Nothing over the last 30 yrs has worked. It is time to quit handicapping the kids and give them a better chance than we had.
But his sure would mess up a lot of school districts. Maybe get their heads on where they belong.

I think that Mr. Martin is wrong about this one. When Republicans call for school vouchers, voters should read that as an attempt by government to disinvest in public education. A quality public education, however, should be understood as a right that all Americans are entitled to. A quality basic public education for all people is not only good for individuals, it is good for society as a whole as it sets societal standards for literacy (a cornerstone of democracy), math, science, and cultural knowledge. The reason why so many African Americans support vouchers is because many have simply lost faith in a government that has continuously failed them and their children. Responsible citizens should never let government off the hook for not living up to the pledges that it makes to its constituency. People should draw a direct connection between Republicans’ attempts to disinvest in public education and Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security.

Bravo Lisa F. the problem is the environment in which these failing schools exist. Poverty, broken homes, no stability or positive role models. I spent 31 yrs in public education and the best indicator of success is stability in the home. Sure, you will have the exception who succeeds no matter what, but the vast majority of these kids have no one to encourage them, send them on time, check homework, conference with teachers and show them by example what success is like. No amount free lunches, section 8, WIC and welfare is going to change the fundamental issue of ill-prepared parents who, despite lack of basics, continue to refuse take personal responsibilty for their families.

Honestly, I think part of the problem is that there is this growing American culture of ignornace... it is becoming fashionable to "not know..." and kids are (as someone posted) forced to pretend to be stupid to fit in. I see this in our general lack of knowledge (or outright fear) of foreign languages/cultures, history, geography, and the scientific method. This trickles down to students, and in particular to poor and/or minority students who see no advantage to being schooled.

Here are some of my solutions: 1) putting more of a cultural emphasis on education/learning in America, 2) auditing and overhauling failing schools, 3) encouraging many types of education (not just prepping children to take standardized tests), and 4) encouraging parents and students to become more involved in the education system.

However, school vouchers (much like the current debate over oil drilling) are just an illusory band-aid that ultimately will cause more problems than it fixes.

I beg to differ. Taking children out of public schools is not helping public schools or the children. The problem is the system and if we simply ignore the system it will not get better. We (black people) do want the best education for our children, however it seems as though we are not willing to work for, JOIN THE PTA, PETITION FOR MORE MONEY, ETC.. We blame the schools.. not the parents.... we blame the environment not the community.
I along with many others attended public school, went to college and then graduate school. Our parents demanded responsibility from the teachers and from us...... The problem now is no responsibility.....Vouchers won't help, participation will.

BARACK THE VOTE PEOPLE................

FINALLY Mr Martin criticized Obama!

I have a question: why is Obama so animated about people not liking his wife? People do have full right to like her or not to like her. She is not untouchable like no one is.
He has to understand and respect other peoples taste and opinions.
It is perfectly OK to like her, and it is perfectly OK to not to like her.
He cannot expect that everybody will like her, or him. It is normal to not to like some people. Nothing wrong with that.
He has to stop to tell people what to do, what to say = these are totalitarian methods, which we do not want here in the country of freedom.
Also the more you force, the more resistance you will get.

To Bulldog

"What about just fixing the school system rather than giving people money to send them to other schools? Do we want solutions or band aids?"

this is a major step to "fixing" our system. We have already proven time and time again that throwing more and more money into the schools does not help them. If you look at other countries (like Belgium) that operate on a voucher system and compare their scores on international tests, they blow us away. We are currently 28th in the world.

The key to reforming the system is to end the ineffiency caused by essentially having a government backed monoply on education. Monopolies never please the customer and bred waste and poor preformance. If schools had to compete, IE please the parents/students, or else go out of business, they might just work harder.

Ultimate example of the failure of the government backed monopoly. German cold war car market. Competitive system = West Germany = BMW, government backed monopoly = East Germany = Trabant. We are running a Trabant school system right now. Frankly, I'd prefer the BMW.

That just goes to show, Obama is so out of touch with the regular
American people.

Hillary 08 As Independant

But if I'm in a district with poor schools which just barely meet federal guidelines, not only do I have to pay taxes, I do NOT get to send my kid to private school free of charge.

I do not pay taxes so that others can get an unfair advantage. If you give vouchers to those in "underachieving" schools, you need to give them to everyone. Enough of the double standards.

The main problem in so-called "underachieving schools" has very little to do with school funding. The underachievment is mostly due to poor parenting.

The Obama campaign is about change alright:

This is a first. An unqualified, inexperienced, unaccomplished candidate running for president and hoping to win by playing the race and the victim cards.

If you don't agree with Obama, you're labeled a racist.
If you don't agree with Michele Obama, you're part of a "right wing conspiracy".

This guy's a joke.

Roland,

I see your point, but disagree strongly. What can parents do in the outskirts of cities where both private and public schools are limited? If a parent can't pay for private school and needs a voucher, then how can that parent afford other costs like transportation, food, uniforms, and schools supplies? Then what about teachers? Would they stay in public schools while private schools become abundantly successful? Also, private schools are far limited in capacity for students than public schools. First and second years of a voucher program might see some improvements, but soon after you will see a whole plate full of new problems surface in the private sector. Now, you have worst public schools and poor private schools. So the temporary fix made everything far worst than before.

Whiny Obama

Conservative press? Are you kidding me? The liberal left leaning press is what got Obama this far. As far as Michelle goes, if she is campaining for her husband, she's fair game.
ny Obama.

school system needs improvement for all students, the smart ones, the ones who are less smart. US ed system is behind European.
Obama is wrong on more things than one. Mainly it is that he and his wife are about themselves only, it is not about people, the country, the world. Her main interest seems to be her, and her clothes. Then her kids and husband. This is what I am getting from the media. Also this overpopularity of Obama -see him, hear about him all the time, not about what he does and will do for people.
We can care less about him going to gym, wearing old pants, or her having fashion show in every interview.
We do need a leader, the people leader, the person who will fight for all of people, not only African American. All of people.
No country has such a obsessive coverage of their leader, and Obama is not even in lead yet, he is only candidate as of now.

Don't like Obama-

After engineering some pretty awful attacks on the whole Clinton family, Obama has nothing to complain about. Sounds like chickens coming home to roost, but to the now familiar sound of Obama blaming and whining.

The Obamas have received kid glove treatment.

It is one of the reasons why Obama, the least qualified of all candidates, is now the nominee of the democratic party.

Why in America should we need vouchers. We are suppose to be the Best. We should be wanting everyone in America to get the best education. I disagree with John McCain and Roland Martin. We are having to compete with people from other countries and we are losing. Evidently they are educating all of their children.

Vouchers for private schools are ridiculous. That is just the same as taking money out of the hands of the poor and giving it to the rich. Private schools do not have to follow national and state standards as do public schools do. Private schools can be affiliated with organizations or religion and private schools do not have to have teachers with the same basic credentials as public schools, so why give the money that is to go to state-supported schools to private schools?

Hey John from Houston-
You are right about 1 thing there are thugs in inner city schools -so if I can get my kid out to a safer and better envionment-I will absolutely take that-
WE have prisons for thugs - our children should not be subject to the fighting, drugs and the like that they bring out-
Maybe that's a good use of a graffitti laden school–
Use it as a reform school–

If you don't like that then you pay what it will cost to fix it right -so the thugs as you call them can ruin it again–

How come Michelle was allowed to be nasty and vicious against Hillary... but then she herself wants to be spared from any scrutiny no matter how fair it is?

John McCain has been a leader for years.

Obama wants to learn how to be one at America's expense.

The smart choice, and obvious choice is McCain!

At least McCain is humble- so is Cindy.

Obama is a cocky, arrogant, underqualified, boastful person just like George Bush.

I did not vote for Bush... I will not vote for the haughty, perfect in his own eyes, Obama.

Right Roland!

Give our kids the best possible chance! The school system has been destroyed by a multicultural ideology that not only dumbs down the system but pushes self-esteem and an anti-white, anti-American pro any other culture rewriting of history that especially ensures the failure of the very kids it pretends to be helping.

The English language is the glue that holds America together. Many kids in our public schools can't read, write or speak English properly. And, at the same time bilingualism is being encouraged!

Blame the media for creating a Teflon shield around Obama. Now we are all stuck with this unqualified and undesirable nominee.

The problem with vouchers is the fact that a small child will have to be bused or driven for a long drive to go to a different school in a different district. The problem is ALL schools, even inner city, even small rural districts, need to have the money invested, the teachers invested and not have to have every child bring in a box of Kleenex because they can't afford it on the school budget. They use old books, their teachers are unable to teach, they allow crime, nobody gets expelled or suspended for more than a day. And drugs are freely available, and the drug salesman knows he can get away with it. ALL schools should be safe and free from crime and have decent teachers. Teachers pay should increase, school budgets should increase, and people could be proud of their school, which would be safe, even if in an inner city or rural town. It isn't the AREA that the school is in that is the problem, its the lack of funding, and lack of allowing teachers to teach instead of discipline.

This isn't some communist country where every child has to get the same crappy education. Vouchers allow kids to get out of schools that would take years to fix and allow them to get an education now.

Basically, liberals are saying, "screw the kids stuck in bad schools".

Don't liberals want poor kids to have a chance too?

MATTER OF OPINION !!!! July 17th, 2008 2:20 pm ET
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee, says vouchers are the right way to go to give parents an option for a better education, while Sen. Barack Obama says the GOP has talked and talked about vouchers, and it hasn't amounted to much more…….I disagree. Private school education has become so expensive that even with vouchers most parents wouldn't be able to afford it. Meanwhile, de-emphasising public education is just going to cause people to lose interest in the system and cause it to go down further.ROLAND WHO IN THE are you to SAY who is RIGHT OR WRONG ……THE PUBLIC schools just need improvement,better pay for the teachers and hold parents responsible for their CHILDREN performance and behavior in the Public Schoo
CNN plz POST 2nd TRY!!!

Of course Mccain is right. Mccain is right on a lot of things.....and all people would see that if you don't have your partisan hat on so tight that it restricts the blood flow to your brain. Appears that Martin took his tight liberal hat off long enough to be conscious of this voucher proposal Mccain made.

This article has no argument. Mr. Martin is basically spewing his opinion, which I respectfully disagree with.

Vouchers will not encourage teachers to perform better, and that in itself will cause more problems.

My belief is that the system needs to be fixed, education needs to be standardized, and those in charge need to be held accountable for their failures. We've ignored the problem long enough. It's time for a solution.

No, Obama is right and McCain is wrong...

School vouchers take money out of the public school system while padding the pockets of private shcools that has their own curriculum and not held to standards of eductation set by school boards.

The biggest problem is that it takes much needed money from the public education system. The problem with our schools are that they are underfunded and 'no child left behind.' Vouchers and the way 'no child left behind' both take desparately needed money from the poorest of public shools.

Obama is right... Invest in public education, not destroy it.

Rolland is wrong on this one. Giving vouchers is not the way. Instead, the quality of this schools should be improved from dead-end to progressive. What happens to the teachers and other students left behind, if only some of the students are given vouchers. The voucher system is bogus and only encourages school districts not to work towards improving their schools.

I love your commentary Martin, but you are wron on this one. Just my opinion.

Roland, I have to very strongly disagree with you on this one.

For starters my wife is an early childhood teacher in public schools that have lost millions of dollars to charter schools that get all the vouchers. The irony of it all is, those charter/private schools that take funds from public schools are not accountable to anyone leave alone the government. Worst of all the children who leave public schools with vouchers in their hands show up a semester/year later voucher gone and worse of than they were before they left and the public school is subjected to closure because of the flawed “no child left behind” dubya gave us.

Umm....for those of you who don't watch CNN because of people like jack and roland then you have missed out on some of the best journalism that's out there! if you don't watch cnn, what else do you watch? Puh-lease...give me a break...i love you roland....xoxo....

dems view: teacher unions & NEA < than children's future. uneducated kids depend on gov't to exist. dems get both union $$$s to get elected and give our $$$s to uneducated to get their votes.
simple math.

In an age when the future of America is hanging in balance and the republican negative attacks which are mostly unfair and below the belt, I don't know why the democrats do not learn to keep their mouth shut and wait until the guy is in the office before criticizing him and give the other side some live ammunition. Is being in the news and staying relevant that important Mr. Martin? Are you that desperate to be in the news that you are willing to do it in the expense of future of America? Wake up people, wake up.

If there are problems existing specific schools be they be inter-city or otherwise ... the itteligent solution would be to adress and illiminate the problems ... NOT giving out vouchers to escape the problem! Vouchers are not likely going to be used by the parents of the children most needing improvemment in their local schools. If a ship has a problem with the structure of it's hull ... buying more life boats really doesn't address the core problem and neither does giving out vouchers!! Mr. Roland ... you are wrong on this one as is McPanderer!!

I live in AZ and work for a school system here. McCain and his buddies tried to make this a "charter school" state. NOT working!!! We need to back up our public school systems. Free public education is the back bone of this country!!!! AZ is just about 50th in the US in pay for teachers and acheivments. Its not good here and the charter schools aren't any better because its based on money. I agree our schools need revamping BUT private and charter are not the way to go. It's just like health care in the country. It needs a lot of help and revizing!!

For all you people trashing vouchers, ask yourselves this: what kind of education do you want YOUR children to have? It's easy to sit on a pedastal and demand stuff about the public school system, but it's a different story when it's YOUR child stuck in a broken school system. Are YOU willing to sacrifice your child's education to make a political point, or do you think YOUR child should have the best options available for a quality education? Think about that...

Raymond Duke,

Can you read? Roland Martin on this issue is siding with McCain, not Obama. Only thing that you could comprehend was the fact that a BLACK man made the statement. If anyone is RACIST, it's you.

Oh, and by the way, I totally disagree with you Mr. Martin. The inner city schools need to be fixed. Period.

roland ,mccain will forget all about cjildren and education as soon as he steps into office ,because he is too simple to handle more than one crises at a time,let alone the dozens of other issues.mccain will go back to his military mentality of his naval days ,and nothing else will matter.investment in all of our public schools is the right way.

Obama? WHO IS THIS GUY?

Money is not the solution! Look @ D.C. and St. Louis Schools where they spend more money per student than most other schools in America, yet they have the worst school systems in America. My son attended an inner city school in Norfolk Va. for 2 years wheree he was threatend bodily harm because he made the other kids look dumb so he acted dumb to keep from getting beat up. At another school in South Carolina my son was threatend for trying out for the High School Basketball Team because they said no white boy plays basketball in this school. A co-worker of my wife's daughter going to one of the best schools in Alabama was called "White" when she was selected for the National Honor Society being the only minority student so honored that year. The problem is not money, it is attitude. Those that have a good attitude toward learning and achieving and do not fold to peer pressure no matter what their place in society can move up in society. Stop the Victim Attitude and take responsibility for ones own actions.

McCain is not chicken to go talk to NAACP. Yet, Obama is a chicken for not wanting to debate McCain in front of a TV audience.

I disagree with both candidates on this topic. There are two important issues in this education debate: one is that some schools are bad (not enough books for students, dilapidated buildings, etc.); and the other is that some students are failing. The second issue may or may not be a result of the first issue. Some students do poorly in school because of reasons beyond their control, such as being sick in the hospital with lukemia. Others, however, do poorly because of lack of parental involvement and lack of self-motivation. As long as there are mothers who believe that " my boy don't need to learn to read 'cause he goin' to the NBA", and teach this to their children, then there will be students who won't take their education seriously. Putting these failing students into new schools will not make them good students, we will just have failing students in good schools, and will most likely have a negative affect on the good students in those schools. Until the parents change their mentalities and make sure their children take their education seriously, nothing will change. Those parents also need to take responsiblity to get good jobs for themselves so that they can pay taxes to support their children's schools instead of burdening others with that responsibility (and our country as a whole needs to make sure that there are plenty of good paying jobs available for everyone)!

Obama the puppet nominee in this rigged democratic primary has consistently been wrong on the issires.... he hides it by simply 'refining' his position as needed, once he sees what polls well.

Obama deserves to lose and so does the democratic party for fixing the primary for the black man- and sacrificing the BEST candidate just because she is a Clinton and a white woman.

Race trumped gender and the election process was subverted to install Obama.

Suffer in NOV for this betrayal of democracy.

Sorry, "fixed for Obama"
...but how exactly was the election stolen?
I don't recall hearing about missing ballots, or other voting day improprieties-as in the '00/'04 Bush elections.

Just because Hillary lost, doesn't mean someone else stole it from her. In reality, she was too prideful and felt so "entitled", that she and her staff just plain out, did not run the best campaign.
History will show that had she spent time in those caucus states, and not just the BIG BLUE states, she would have beat him by a landslide.
Fact is–she didn't. She took the 'Clinton' brand for granted, and quite frankly, many voters.
Don't make false statements, even if you are not supporting a candidate-which is your right. Lying about the facts is not, however!

school vouchers are a joke give that money to the schools and make them better. every school in the USA should get the same amount of money. Everything should be equal.

school choice – YES. but public schools. giving money to religious schools is just wrong.

this is just another on the long list that this loser Obama is wrong on. this clown does not know what he thinks until he looks at a teleprompter or he sees a new poll.

Let's see:
unqualified, no accomplishments, no experience, no qualifications, no track record... but somehow Obama is the nominee of the democratic party.

Out of all the Great choices of candidates our party had to offer.

And why is Obama, the least qualified, now the nominee?:

1) He registered hundred of thousands- voters too selfish, too apathetic and too lazy to ever vote before. People who never cared for their country before, will now vote for an unqualified POP icon pushed by celebrities and hyped by the media.

2) The candidate of change- has raised and spent MORE money than any previous candidate. Just to promote self and to prematurely make a grab the white house. Going against party ideals on campaign financing and going against his own position on campaign finance reform. WHAT a sad waste of money when people are starving and dying.

3) Obama played the race card and now people will vote for him JUST because he is black- to avoid being called racists. The myth is that people are too racist to vote for Obama, but the reality is that he is ONLY the democratic nominee because of his race (half black) and that is why people are voting for him. Can't be based on knowing his positions, or his record- he has neither.

4) Obama cheated his way to the nomination.

Everyone stop what you're doing and listen to another Mr. Know-It-All.

Mr. Martin's opinions don;t matter anymore than the next guy or gal. So tired of these talking heads.

No amount of MONEY will fix public schooling. They're failing because of what's in them. Many of the teachers are horrible and can't be fired because of the unions. The good kids that are forced to go there are surrounded by degenerates who don't want to be there, but are forced.

Public schools will always fail because we allow the worst of the students to populate them and ruin the 'good' students chances of succeeding because no good teachers will put up with the ilk. Get the good students out and deal with the rest in some other manner.

ANY improvement is welcome...

Schools that lack basic functionality are one thing but the Taj Mahal complex NY state has at least is ridiculous. Our local school district completed a 54 million dollar capital project with new buildings, technology, and sports complex. I send my kids to the local parochial school that resides in an old building with the basics. The private school easily out scores the public system every year on state tests.

Administrators can't seem to grasp the idea behind quality education and quality facilities. When I was a kid the smaller transports were panel vans with basic bench seats, now they buy Ford Expeditions. I work for a company that provides technology services to school districts in NY and if people knew the money they wasted they would be outraged. Try paying teachers more and giving them better resources instead of making the entire school wireless network enabled or buying a new furniture suite for the superintendent.

Not quite Roland ...

School Education Vouchers in the amount of $5,000 amount to

1.) a subsidy for the Rich when tuition costs are $8,000.
2.) a tease for the Poor when tuition costs are $8,000.

Fundamental market competition among schools is a good idea. However vouchers can not simply be another means to transfer tax payer wealth to the rich.

Don't be so quick to decide that vouchers for charter schools is the answer. All schools should be lifted to the same playing field. In a large Indiana city near where I reside, there is a charter school that receives significant government dollars and managed by someone with a business degree. It is in its second year with no desks, the children sit at long cafeteria style tables, they have no books, the teachers must copy lesson plans and work papers to use and there is very little for the kids to take home to study from. It may seem better to someone trying to escape an undesirable neighborhood, but to someone attending a well managed public school, this charter school is woefully inadequate. It's results for good or bad won't show up for some time.

Poster Zina said, "If one child can be allowed to attend private schools with tax payer money, why not all?" Well, that's exactly the point of a voucher system! The public schools (or "school's", as those of you who attended the worst public schools spell it) are often poorly run because their pathetic performance is subsidized by the taxpayer, they often have little or no competition, and it's virtually impossible to fire the worst teachers and discipline the worst students. Private schools raise the bar, forcing the public schools to compete. If the public schools improve, that's great – everyone is better off. If the public schools fail to improve, more parents waving vouchers in their hands will prompt more private schools to open.

What's the worst that could happen? A nation full of well-run and effective private schools and no poorly-run public schools. What's wrong with that?

The alternative is to continue to do what we've been doing: Let only the parents who can afford it send their kids to the private schools, while unfairly also paying for the worst public schools, and force the poorest families to continue sending their children to the worst public schools in order to let the unions protect the jobs of the worst teachers.

Why do so many of the poorest people continue to vote for democrats who oppose voucher systems, which are the best way for their children to escape poverty and have prosperous lives? Follow the money, folks, and it clearly leads to teachers unions supporting democratic candidates. They make those contributions for their own good, not for the sake of your children.

Please, please, please stop posting stuff by Roland Martin. He's so annoying on tv and reading his blathering here it too much. He is B Grade and belongs on Fox.

We need a strong PUBLIC school system. If people want to go to a private school, let them pay. Public money needs to go to public schools. Roland, you're wrong on this one.

I was watching McCain's speach in Kansas today & was stunned to realize how out of touch he really is! He was talking about child porn on the internet, & "he's not sure about Obama, but he dosen't think he's doing anything, & he knows CONGRESS & NO ONE else is doing anything to protect our children from chat room petifiles, child porn, or the slave trade, & our children are in DANGER!"
He's obviously not aware that there are already laws in force, & law inforcement are constantly working to investigate, enforce, & procecute these pedifiles.
His rederick is about 20 years behind the times, & he should know more about the internet & laws before stuttering out things he knows nothing about, just to have something to say! And trying to scare uninformed parents! (I can't believe some people actually clapped)
I'm Independant, but the more he opens his mouth, the more I'm sure, I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR McCAIN!!
A retired corrections officer

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? VOUCHERS ARE HORRID!! THEY STEAL MONEY FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ORDER TO FUND RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS – I DONT WANT MY TAX DOLLARS FUNDING MUSLIM OR CATHOLIC OR ANY TYPE OF SCHOOL WITH AN ADDITIONAL MOTIVE THAN TO TEACH THE STUDENTS

CNN IS FLAT OUT WRONG WITH THIS!

My daughter has been on a waiting list in NY for four(4) years waiting for a voucher, her son has graduated HS this June. Its more bureauracy and do we really want our tax dollars going to private schools and schools in our community (PS) being destroyed...fix our schools and teachers...... we want the best education for our children in our communities now we cannot afford to be on a waiting list. Most of the kids end up at Catholic schools in NY .... wheres the separation between church and state???? Vouchers are fine but not at the expense of taxpayers and sometimes those private schools are not doing their best just collecting taxpayers dollars.

Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee, says vouchers are the right way to go to give parents an option for a better education, while Sen. Barack Obama says the GOP has talked and talked about vouchers, and it hasn't amounted to much more.......I disagree. Private school education has become so expensive that even with vouchers most parents wouldn't be able to afford it. Meanwhile, de-emphasising public education is just going to cause people to lose interest in the system and cause it to go down further.ROLAND WHO IN THE are you to SAY who is RIGHT OR WRONG ......THE PUBLIC schools just need improvement,better pay for the teachers and hold parents responsible for their CHILDREN performance and behavior in the Public Schools

Dead wrong, Roland. So, how does a public school retain good students and teachers when they can just get a voucher to go elsewhere? If charter schools are the best solution, why not just close all of the public schools and make all of the students attend charter schools? Because it's rediculous and so are vouchers. Are the public schools supposed to suddenly feel threathened and decide to clean up their act? Is that the theory? If you believe that, then you're the one riding into Candy Land on a unicorn, not Obama.

Jack Rivers – $30k per year? Seriously... no one expect to send their kid to a Harvard prep school. There are lots of private schools that cost 2k/ year.

Vouchers won't solve the problem, but at least it will help a few kids..that's a few more than previous 'solutions'.

"But this is one time where he should have opposed them and made it clear that vouchers can force school districts, administrators and teachers to shape up or see their students ship out."

This is typical GOP stance, use fear and threats to get what you want. This is no way to reshape the education system, particulary in our inner city schools.

Sorry Roland, you and McCain are wrong and Obama has it right.

what about ones that will be denied these vouchers i think the focus should be fixing all scholls!!!

The real problem isn't with schools, it's with parents.

You can get the equivalent of a college degree with a library card if we would only set an example for kids and turn off the playstation and read a book.

I think we should invest more into our failing schools to help them out rather than reward the private schools. I went through the public school system and I can tell you that I had teachers who taught and I had teachers who napped. We just need to help those teachers that teach by giving them support in both the schools and at home.
Did you know that the average principal(VP) in NY makes over 100K a year? The average Superintendant(CEO) over 200k irregardless if their schools do well or not. Teachers make a paltry 40k(even less because some have to pay for their own supplies). Look at where the money goes and let's reward not punish teachers.
'No Child Left Behind' was supported by George W. Bush nuff said!
Obama in 08!

Martin and McCain is wrong on vouchers. The state governments as well as the federal government need to fix the system so that every school regardless of location teaches to the same high standard. This is the only way we can prepare future generations to compete in the global world market. You dont sent children to other schools because the one they attend is broken, you fix that school and you fix it fast. Any state that continues to allow school that are not meeting current and future educational requirements to continue on its path, then the state government needs to be fired and someone put in place to make sure the standards of education for all children are the same regardless of location.

You guys thinking that Roland Martin is an Obama supporter are just plain wrong. Read ALL of his commentaries. He's a Republican. You probably just think he's supporting Obama because they're both black.

To Ervin,

Your proposal has been going on for the last few decades. There's no hope for the inner city schools. They stuck in a viscious cycle that no amount of money can fix. You have to totally remake them from the ground up.

The place to invest is with the youngest students. You simply cannot expect to turn around a child in the 8th grade. They're usually multiple levels behind in skills because it's now un-PC to hold them back until they're ready to move on.

Reform at the lowest levels, buck the teachers union, get government out of the schools, allow the teachers to TEACH, get the troublemakers out of the school.

McCain this sounds like big government again and pandering...

Would rather see a change in how the schools get the money. So that each kid is worth the same, instead of the current system.

Now that Obama has stolen the nomination of the party... it is okay for even Roland to offer up a tiny critique of the otherwise perfect Obama.

It is safe now to disagree on small issues, since the BEST candidate has been eliminated.

The democrats deserve to lose in Nov as a reaction to the travesty of justice that the primary was- and as a protest against unfair campaigning and fixed nominations.

Another here who says the PUBLIC schools systems should be brought up to code and standards by the govt instead of being IGNORED AND LEFT ALONE. Which is the gist of vouchers, give money intended for schools to people who want to go elsewhere. Meanwhile, the people left behind will now be at an even worse institution.

Bottom line is tho, i can see some of the reasoning, but calling either side wrong is shortsighted, especially since its a govt respnsiblity to provide adequate education. Face it, govt hasn't done its job, and this is just a plan to have SOME people go to a better place, certainly not all or even the majority.

Roland,

Obama is wrong on many other issues... maybe if you race-bias had not so blinded you... we would have a better nominee for the democratic party.

Instead of "fixing" the public schools, fix the broken families that contribute to the decline of education in these districts. Believe me, it is not the quality of the education that leads to failing schools...it is the failing of the basic family structure needed for a child to succeed.

Teachers in these schools are no differently trained than teachers in "successful" more prosperous schools. It is the background of the student in these failing schools that differs. It is the decline of an intact, caring family that has lead to the failure of certain schools.

If a child is raised in a neglectful, abusive environment most will not be able to embrace educational opportunity. Many of these dysfunctional families look to the school system to raise their children instead of stepping up to the plate. Many kindergarteners of these defunct families can't count to ten or recognize letters of the alphabet.

If a mother or father is more interested in turning the next trick or finding the next fix instead of getting little susie washed and ready for school, then no amount of educational reform can fix that.

FIX THE BROKEN FAMILIES !!

Giving money for vouchers to attend certain "successful" schools is not the answer.

Where does that leave the poor children of these families?

Voucher system ???? What good does it really do ? This will still allow a "few choice" of children to receive a better education. We need to fix the whole school system in every city so that ALL children will be able to receive the education that they deserve and need. On this, I disagree with Roland.

Obama is never wrong.

You, Roland, should know that better than anyone else.

You have done nothing but build this unqualified candidate up into a myth of pefection, hope and change.

Spending more money than ever to win a nomination and an election is NOT positive change... nor is making race a qualification.... nor is cheating to gains the nomination.

You can't fix public schools unless you demolish them from the ground up. From the teachers unions to the school boards to everyone in between, the system is so corrupt that no amount of money you throw at it will fix it.

Another government run program that's a failure....go figure.

Give it a few days and Obama will change his position

Martin trying to be fair and balanced?

Too late – we know where your kool-aid lies.

Barack Hussein Obama is wrong on a lot of things.

I guess every American has the right to their own opinion, Mr. Martin, and we're well aware of yours.

Instead of providing school vouchers to parents to send their children to another institutuion of higher learning, why doesn't each of the state accept their responsibility and invest these funds to improve on the degrading education system that exist within their communities. We can just pay another institution to accept the responsibility which is inherent to the state and community. And who is going to pay for the vouchers? Education has never been a priority for the states, and if they paid teachers decent salaries.........that would have all the resources need to provide a quality education. Another instance of when money talks, and the truth remains silent.

Obama needs to go away...

I have never before been UNable to cast a ballot for the "nominee" of my party... in 35 years.

Obama has no merits, accomplishements or qualifications for the office of the presidency.

Being black and running a slick internet campaign with the most funding of ANY candidate in history- these are not qualifications we need in a leader.

The amount of money that Obama has wasted in this egotistical, self-promotion grab for power is just SHAMEFUL.

The democratic party deserves t lose.

The idea of vouchers is a stupid and elitist idea that doesn't work (even in theory) unless one lives in a big city. For those parents in small cities and rural areas, there are no options.

The American piublic school system needs a complete overhaul. Maybe if we hadn't thrown away trillions of dollars on the Bush Wars and his fake terrorism, we'd have money to fix our own infrastructure.

Why do we have "dead end, failing schools"? It's a symptom of the greater woes our country faces. So what's the solution? Fix ALL the schools so that one isn't better than another.

And all you Obama detractors...you're all entitled to your opinions, but could you get some new ones? It's the same old complaint, post after post. Could you be a little more creative and intelligent with your posts, please? You're boring me to no end.

Not only do rotten schools have to be fixed but also take a look at the kids and the parents. No discipline. Get after the local gov's who fund the schools. paid by the local taxpayer. You can lead a horse to water but not make him drink.
It's about time they emphazised the 3 r.s and less of all this social crap.

How about fixing the broken public school systems instead of handing out vouchers. Doesn't everyone have a right to a good education.

When do the debates start?

Let Obama and McCain have at it.

Is the empty suite scared of the debates? He should be.

Have the debates let the American people chose who is right for America.

I bet it will be McCain, the real American.

McCain 08

This is a FIRST!

Roland Martin has called Obama wrong! Wow, it probably will rain today!

I usually agree with you Roland, but I think you are totally wrong on this issue.

You know, on second thought, Roland is right. We should just privatize education. It's worked so well for the war in Iraq. Does Halliburton even do Education contracts? What am I thinking? Of course they do.

Ok, so a low income family, in a failing school district , earning, say, $30k per year gets a $2000 voucher to pay tuition at a private school that costs...$30,000 per year. Then a family in a well to do school districts that earns $2 million per years gets a $2000 voucher to pay tuition at the same school. The rich family gets to send their kid to that private school no matter what. They are just getting $2000 for free. Meanwhile, the poor family (because the government absolutely can not afford to pay for 100% of tuition for all children) gets nothing, because they STILL can't afford the private school. So who gets helped? Still the rich family? Who gets screwed, the poor family. "School vouchers" do NO one any good other than families who can already afford to send their kids to a private school.

Doesn't vouchers smack of elitism?

roland martin praising MCCAIN ? //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

practising reverse spin-spin-spin ? We are onto YOU ObamaS'
slicker...and more...America knows to be a straight talker..unlike
you know who....OBAMA

roland, i like you but if you believe a word that comes out of mcbush's lips on this issue, i will cross you off my list of sensible people.

george "war criminal" bush supported vouchers, didn't he? nothing came of it, because it was just lipservice. something some repugs thought might garner some extra votes.

mcsenile is soooo insincere, he can hardly keep a straightface....it is really disappointing to me that you would take this man at his word. Mccain does two things....lies and denies!

How about fixing the ills of public schools FIRST? Roland, I respectfully disagree on this issue.

Sorry Roland, this is a well written and unbiased report, but I do not agree. I would rather see the government invest in repairing and upgrading the public school system. Even with vouchers, a majority of students will still have to attend public school. It is best for us to just do what we can to improve the failing schools, so that all students would have an equal opportunity to get the best education available.

I believe that giving vouchers will never work as there are not enough funds. IF one person is allowed to leave a failing school, all should. Whose kid is going to be left behind.

That said: Folks google Rowland Martin articles. This guy is a confessed friend of Rev. Wright and staunchly defended him during his travails. Is this a signal that the Wright crew is now anti-BO? We already know the Jackson crowd is.

Ervin July 17th, 2008 1:22 pm ET

Roland, sorry dude, I have to agree with Obama on this one.
If everyone is allowed to send their children to better schools by simply avoiding "innercity schools", then we will have ABANDONED innercity schools, and ONLY thugs and the very poor will populate innercity schools

THAT'S ALL THAT POPULATES IT NOW!!!

They won't agree on everything, so Mr. Martin your opinion is welcomed.

Obama '08!

Hey Bulldog & Zina and the like-
It takes more tax payer money to do that-
It's called Performance Based-Just not throwing money at it-
The area if it's bad will never change-
So you have a novel idea-
Let's fix it perfect so they can throw graffitti on a new surface–

McCain right on this-the surge-and a host of other things-
By the way to blame the Conservative press for talking about his wife is nonsense-Hillary started that and everyone knows it–

If Mr. Obama wants to be President he's going to have to get some more experience as well as thicker skin–

When people go to the voting booth and realize the differences in Character-They will have a harded time pulling it for Obama–

He's making decisions about places without even consulting those in the know ( that's called shooting from the hip )
Certainly that and in this econmy to increase taxes is stupid-People will clam up even more–

Regardless the reason we got into Iraq-WE have to leave a winner-
Not a loser !!

Half the problem with kids failing in schools is not the schools but their homelife. OR lack of such. Parents these days in the inner city and others are not being responsible for their kids upbringing in all areas not just education.

Why would you have vouchers to go to another school instead of improving the school? So if every child of one school received the voucher to go to another school, that school would be shut down and the other school would be over crowded. Simple example, but valid point. Why can't we improve the education system.

The main problem with vouchers is that it will create a greater demand for enrollment in private schools, who will then be able to pick and choose who to admit, leaving the students with less ability or learning skills back in the public school system. Better to require the public school teachers to increase their competency (which the teachers union will fight) so they can do a better job of teaching. And they should stop teaching to tests!

I guess with the vouchers we can all send our children to the best school in the surburban neighborhood. If parents can't pick up their own children in theri community what makes you think that can pick up itheir kids across town. Having vouchers also takes away from having quality education in all areas of Ameica's corners, not select areas. Also on your radio, you have heard paretns wishing that they did not have to bus their children across town to go to school. They want good education everywhere. Vouchers are copouts to avoid dealing witht eh real issues with teachers and curriculum. No wonder this article is short because it is so wrong.

How about improving the schools instead running away with your wallet and your voucher ? Talk about "cut and run".

it is all good and dandy until the private schools are overwhelmed by minority students.........then we all know what will happen.....we need to try and make the scale more equal......because everyone will not be able to attain a voucher.....and we all know this.......vouchers are pandering

I tend to agree with Martin on a lot but here I disagree. Private school education has become so expensive that even with vouchers most parents wouldn't be able to afford it. Meanwhile, de-emphasising public education is just going to cause people to lose interest in the system and cause it to go down further.

Someone accurately pointed out that the reason private schools do so much better is that they don't have to deal with misbehaving children. I think there should be legislation to hold parents responsible for their children's performance and behaviour in public schools

Some of these Obamabots are stupid. Do u think telling parents to get invloved in their childrens lives will fix the education system? Offer solutions lke McCain is putting forth for christ sakes. Sooner or later, some of these Obamabots will start seeing that Obama will not fix everything and they will be left disappointed.

Sure, if you want to destroy the public school system

vOUCHers.......a horrible idea.....

How do those inner-city kids get to those private schools? This is the problem with the American education system. Everyone thinks the answer is to send kids to private school. First of all. Its easier said than done. Second of all, isnt that completely overlooking the root problems of the education system in america? Noting the differences between the inner-city schools and the schools in the suburbs?

Its like increasing oil production instead of investing in and using other sources of energy.

Do we try to do immediate fixes that wont have any long-term consequences or attack the roots and actual causes of these problems? I'm sorry, but I prefer the latter

This entire concept is an attempt to completely undermine public education that is wrapped up in a Trojan horse.

First, the vouchers seldom if ever will cover the costs of a private school.

Second, even if they did the vast majority of children would be left behind, private schools do not have the capacity to take on a huge percentage of public school kids.

Third, you shrink the remaining pie of resources for those that cannot afford private schools and those that aren't prepared to make the jump.

This is a dangerous concept that will undermine equality and future opportunity for many more than it can help.

It's not just your kid, it's all kids. We need to raise the level of our public schools, not dismantle them.

Obama will make history:

For destroying the democratic party.

For his premature grab at power and the whitehouse without any accomplishments, experience, qualifications whatsoever.

As the weakest and least qualified candidate that the democrats ever SELECTED as a nominee- just because he is black.

For WASTING more money on his self-promotion and glitzy campaign than ANY other candidate in history- in a party that believes in campaign finance reform and public funds- and as a candidate who has until now, always advocated for campaign finance reform.

For having stolen the nomination from the BEST qualified candidate, by playing the race card, strong-arming at caucus, threats to blackout the vote and manipulating the media into providing ONLY positive coverage of himself and his wife.

And meanwhile the public schools get shafted for the more prestigious private and charter schools leaving the same problem in most inner city and poorer areas. How about incentives for top-notch teachers to direct their skills and resources to the public schools in the under-served areas?

Wow....Martin for the first time, chooses to criticize Obama?

When the public education that your tax dollars pay for do not provide an adequate education to your children–you should be able to opt for another institution that may do a better job. YOu should not have to pay AGAIN for that privilege.

Education taxes funds should be transferred to the new school–or a voucher be issued to the taxpayor for reimbursement–then paid to the new school.

Using vouchers before we make sure every public school is serving its students at its full potential seems to me like an invitation to the failure of public schools.
Once all schools are up to snuff then vouchers would be just fine, BUT, I bet they wouldn't be as popular.

SCHOOL VOUCHERS CAN WORK BUT THIS ISN'T THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THE SCHOOL PROBLEM . I THINK BOTH SIDES HAVE VALID POINTS. MOST PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE FAR MORE RESOURCES THAT PRIVATE SCHOOLS. THE NOTION THAT ALL PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE GREAT IS NOT TRUE.

Martin, I usually agree with you. But, I can't on this one. Year's past, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Clark and others fought to ensure equality in public schooling. Vouchers distract local, state and national leaders to correct the disparities within certain schools.

The way I see it, voucher equates to separate and unequal.

Martin, would you identify the true reasons why schools fail? What is the merit in leaving public schools behind?

vocher for private school is not acceptable. People pay taxes toward the school system. Why hasn't it been used to fix the public school? Where is our money going to that we have to fight with our representatives to receive more funding for public schools. It does not make sense. If parents can afford and choose to send their children to private schools that is fine. For those who cannot afford private school and are paying taxes to the public school system, there is an expectation to have the schools functional. It is inexcusable to have the public schools failing despite paying taxes into the system. it is ridculous. I am starting to think that the school taxes are being used to give the rich their tax break.

Obama is all over the map with his positions on issues... He tries to please EVERYone- the left, the center, African Americans, conservatives, White people....

He needs to take a stand and stick with it- whether that position polls well or not.

Stop this blatant political posturing just to steal the election.

Roland, that's the beauty of our nation, we can disagree! Just because we support, Sen. Obama does not mean that we agree 100% with everything he believes and values!

I for one, am a Catholic who is against abortion and the death penalty. Yet, I see "life" as more than the baby in the womb, ITS ALL LIFE THAT'S PRECIOUS!

I am a product of a Catholic education, and we sent our children through Catholic schools, but I am against vouchers! Why? Because IT IS ELITIST TO START SEPARATING CHILDREN OF THE HAVES AND HAVE-NOTS.

Let's work on making public schools great. Let's increase teachers salaries so that we attract the cream-of-the-crop of colleges to the teaching profession.

Those of us, who can afford private and religious schools already do send our children. We need to help the public school system be the best in the world!

Couldn't we just double No Child Left Behind.....again?

Obama is nothing but a panderer... once he figures out that his position on an issue- like school vouchers- is not polling well, he will change (I mean clarify and 'refine' ) his own position.

This man is a danger to democracy.

Roland, you're taking the bait. Drinking the koolaid. Yeah, they'll give you vouchers. But those vouchers will only pay 20% of the total cost of your kids education. You'll be in hock up to your eyeballs once your kid graduates from the 6th grade. Good luck with that.

In Michigan, a side-by-side performance of charter and public schools prove that public schools are better! Put money in public schools by ending the Iraq war, ending oil subsidy and you will see a huge difference. Grand Rapids, Michigan is rebuilding the inner city schools with new buildings equipped with new technology and already there have been significant improvements in test scores, etc. That's the way to go; not vouchers.

The practical difficulty is too many states, including Texas, do not have adequate supervision of charter schools. Some of them seem to run well while others have been take-the-money-and-run enterprises. Choice is certainly defensible, but taxpayers are entitled to accountability and responsibility along with choice. Some charter school proponents accept the need for supervision while others claim that it would violate their religious liberties. What it comes down to, I think, is that if they take taxpayers' money, they must be accountable in a meaningful way to taxpayers!

Could Roland Martin be any dumber? Vouchers are not the answer to the failing education in America. Our public schools need to be tuned up so that the United States has the best public school system in the world. Vouchers are a band aid, not a solution.

use the money to fix the public school system. Its the system that made america great!

Martin, I think it's a great opportunity for innercity children, but not all public school children will be approved for these vouchers.

With that said, public schools need better funding and I think they know that. I would like to see the public schools cleaned up rather than a "quick fix". This problem should be addressed immediatly, but who cares about the public school children right?

Thank you so much.

I think Obama is wrong on most things... but then he just changes his position once he finds out what is polling well at the time.

Obama has no good, fresh ideas- he just takes the position that is currently in favor, based on opinion polls.

Obama will destroy the democratic party in his effort to prematurely grab the white house.

Its privatization of the public school system to find a way to make money from an institution that was functioning well until the last 20 years. Just when these schools started popping up. Hmmm....

Like bottled water, if you 'create' a market, even unneeded, you have to demonize or actually sabotage the other.

I am the product of a private school education,one my single mother stove very hard to pay for with no vouchers. Like the new push for off shore drilling vouchers don;t correct the problem for millions of children; the problem is the schools themselves.
Yes teachers are underpaid and there is a lack of supplies for a proper curriculum but where is all the money being poured into these schools going? Cut the fat, cut administrations focus on education at the elementary school level and really teach these kids. This will solve a large amount of the problems.
If kids go to school and are made to feel that educaiton is everything for their future, there will be fewer dropouts, less vandelism (why do American kids detroy everything???) and and a better sense of self. All this in turn will make the teacher's jobs easier and vouchers will not be needed. Make the parents part of the solution, don't give them vouchers to find better paid babysitters elsewhere while they do nothing- these are their kids first and foremost.

Obama is right and you are wrong. Adequate funding for public education is the only answer to the problems of our students, particularly those of the inner-cities.

Your listeners can be forgiven for being taken in by this right-wing scheme to defund public education. The right has always played upon the desperation of the underprivileged to keep them from seeing their own interests clearly.

But you should know better. Either educate yourself on this issue or keep your mouth shut.

Like Obama has said, parents must be active in their childrens education. Vouchers aren't going to create a change in parenting responsibilities, it starts in the home.

Judy you got it wrong
It's not no child left behind
It's no child left a dime!

What happened Roland? Did Obama fire you as his spokeperson? This is the first time I've seen you say something not found on Obama's web site. Keep this up and you might actually become an impartial journalist when you grow up.

I wish the "media" would (objectively) delve further into the background of Obama's "inner circle" and provide the public with an *objective* portrayal of them (Rev. Wright, etc.). It is terrifying to think that a man who has been molded by such extremist, racist, closed-minded, and just straight up shady individuals could even be up for consideration for the Presidency. IF and WHEN this does happen, his popularity will plummet.

We all want the best education for our children. My kids attend public schools and they are doing better than kids from some folks I know who attend charter schools, one of the so-called choice schools. Reform public schools by upgrading buildings complete with new technology and you will see the difference. Once we are able to provide equal technology and opportunity to all children, reward good teachers and get rid of the bad ones, public education will be restored to where it ought to be. Taking money away from it doesn't help matters. If people want to go to private schools, let them pay for it.

So the solution is to let corporations, not licensed educators with degrees in that field, run our schools? If more parents in the African American community became more involved in the education that their kids are getting, maybe someone would listen. Join the PTA or the school board. Take some responsibility and make a difference. Teachers and parents have two different roles. But if the parents don't care about their kids' education why should the teachers? Don't make it seem like schools fail because of teachers. Its much more than that. Roland, you don't have to write everyday just so you can see your words in print even though they don't make sense.

Roland Martin isn't nothing but a lap dog for Obama. He is clearly a racist in his views and hates white people(well anyone who disagrees with Obma). I don't watch cnn anymore because of people like him and Jack Cafferty even though I had watched cnn for years . They use to give it to you straight but not anymore. They really do make Fox look fair and balanced. Vouchers would be great for parents if it didn't lead to more tax payer money for failing schools. It don't help nobody if a bunch of thugs make it into the few decent schools that we have left.

McCain is never right.

Obama 08

Roland your heart is in the right place but you simply forget about the evil of men..

Where I live here in Illinois we're just recovering from a corrupt system that purposely neglected student bases on what side of town they were from.

East siders great education, teachers & books.
West siders crap education, teachers & books.

Yes the federal gov't was able to prove this was done on purpose.
The evil of men & women knows no bounds.

This is absolutely absurd. People should not have to ship their children across town and go through the process of getting a voucher just for their children to get a good education in the most prosperous country on earth. The current voucher system is bogus I might add you have a choice between a number of low to average performing schools. You can go from a low-performing school to an excellent one, at least not here in Alabama. And even if you are zoned for a low-performing school, if the school met its AYP goal for the last two years you can't get a voucher anyway. It's a bunch of bull, and besides, what happens to all those children left behind in the messed up schools??? What kind of a solution is this?! I totally disagree with Roland Martin on this one. It might be a good quick fix for a select number of families who have used it and support it but it does not solve the big overreaching problem that the public schools in inner and rural cities are not suitable educational institutions, period.

mccain is always wrong. mccain was wrong at first when he said he was right. mccain go home please. obama will be the next president.

Vouchers are the absolute WRONG answer. The tax payers and residents of a good school are the one's who must reap the rewards of that school. Over crowding them with students who's parents did NOTHING to make that school what it is, is nothing more then Charity.

It is up to the community to make their schools better. Don't make me pay more taxes so that I can support my school district as well as your vouchers to attend it.

A plan such as this will see the top schools quickly over populated, and the local children forced to look for other schools due to waiting lists barring them from attending their own local schools.

Oh my God, I can't believe it. Roland Martin agrees with Senator McCain. Wow!!! This must definitely be a first.

Now, now, you are going to be in trouble with Senator Obama and his supporters. Do you know that? Within the Senator's campaign, no one (black, white, Jewish, Latino, or Asian, etc.) can go against his wishes.

I think I am starting to admire you. By the way, I am a life-long Democrat.

Stay tuned...

wow this one is not filled with the Obamatrons (Thank you Mike Baker for this glorious word)

I think the whole voucher idea is just plain stupid. How can the so called "good" schools take in all the other students, and what happens to all the children left in the so called "bad" schools? All schools need to be improved as much as possible for all students. Invest in all the schools, not just a few students who get vouchers. "No Child Left Behind"–typical Republican slogan, means just the opposite.

Wasn't this story on yesterday's ticker?

What I don't understand is – why create a voucher? Why not "fix" the "failing schools"??

Roland: I think you and other media need to go to some of these so called voucher and charter schools; most are terrible.

Wow!!

The problem is prothletyzing to school age children Rev. Ronland Martin!

Roland, sorry dude, I have to agree with Obama on this one.
If everyone is allowed to send their children to better schools by simply avoiding "innercity schools", then we will have ABANDONED innercity schools, and ONLY thugs and the very poor will populate innercity schools.

How about strengthening the innercity schools by providing better qualified teachers and administrators, and injecting "funds" into neighborhood schools to attract and retain the best teachers.

Otherwise, it's nothing but reversed "white flight". Black Americans cannot solve our problems by blindly following white Americans to the suburbs, and back into the inner city, then crying gentrification is destroying our neighborhoods. We must stay and fight the thugs and strenthen the single-family households through education and administrative support.

Peace!!!!

Roland Martin should not have been on CNN during the primaries. His favoritism toward Obama was very apparent, and he should have been more honest with the public. Well, CNN should have just introduced him as an Obama supporter rather than a commentator or pundit. Since then, I do not put any credence in anything he says about any candidate. CNN should save the space and hire more objective journalists.

What does John McSenile know about family or education?

Nothing except what his advisors tell him, then he forgets it.

It's nice to see Roland Martin write an unbiased article about Obama/McCain. So many of CNN contributers can't see the issues for being blinded and deafened by BO's "words". Keep up the good work, Roland–We need fair and balanced more often!

OBAMA IS WRONG PERIOD FOR OUR COUNTRY. AMERICA GETS WHAT THEY ASK FOR.

Using my critical thinking capabilities, I ask myself about.......
change and donors:

Small donors are donating to Obama's campaign in order to get "change," so the question is:

What kind of change will they receive in retribution?????????

Big donors, Washington insiders, are investing in Obama's campaign in order to get "change," so the question is:

What kind of change will they receive in retribution?????/

"Give them the option to use vouchers to send their children someplace where they could get a quality education." This is a fine idea......BUT.......

The primary focus needs to be/must be helping failied schools. It is a cop out to give vouchers if the main problem of fixing the school system is neglected.

So Mr. Martin Obama is right and McSame well...no comment.

Once again, John McCain demonstrates his courage and forthrightness in speaking at the NAACP Convention. And speaking of the importance of school choice, including vouchers.

Americans for McCain '08

and who exactly would actually use vouchers?

Wow, even Roland admits that Obama is not right on the issue of education and school vouchers.

Maybe if he takes a closer look at some of the other issues, he'll come to similar conclusions on them.

I don't have a problems with vouchers when the local public shools have the same amenities and backing as the private schools they will be competing against. However, we all know that is not the case. Public schools are being left behind and ignored while private private schools are able to attract and retain the best teachers, equipment, resources, etc.

Sorry, Roland. I disagree with you on this one. ALL schools need to be lifted up. If one child can be allowed to attend private schools with tax payer money, why not all? Revitalize all schools so each child has a chance to be in a winning school. Not just a select few.

What about just fixing the school system rather than giving people money to send them to other schools? Do we want solutions or band aids?