Just before Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, New Mexico educator Teresa Brito-Asenap spoke about commitment to education:
Buenos Noches. Good Evening.
I am Teresa Brito-Asenap from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first nine years of my life my grandparents worked with me to study and learn. They always talked about the importance of education. But it was not until third grade that I realized that mi abuelita, my grandmother, could neither read nor write.
But because of them, today I hold a doctorate in education. I owe them and my parents everything. Strong families raise strong students. All they need are world-class schools and dedicated teachers. Yet because of George W. Bushand John McCain, our schools don’t have the resources they need to meet the high standards of No Child Left Behind.
We don’t need four more years of the same. We need to turn the page and put our kids at the head of the class.Barack Obama will invest $10 billion a year in early education funding and give any student who wants to go to college a $4,000 tax credit. That’s the change we need and the change Barack Obama will bring as president of the United States.
He’s made a firm commitment to education, right here in his acceptance speech tonight:
America, now is not the time for small plans. Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy.
You know, Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have that chance.
I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries, and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability.
And we will keep our promise to every young American: If you commit to serving your community or our country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
We spoke with Florida 17th District Congressman, Kendrick Meek today about education in the US, and what we all can do to strengthen it:
Congressman Meek has been a staunch advocate of education. From his website:
In 2002, Congressman Meek launched an initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida’s overcrowded public schools. As Chairman of Florida’s Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Congressman Meek spearheaded a petition drive that collected more than 500,000 signatures. He guided the amendment through two opposition efforts in the Florida Supreme Court, as well as a well-funded campaign of scare tactics designed to kill it at the ballot box. In the end, the 2.5 million Florida citizens voted for the measure and it was approved.
Did you know? Keith Kreuger, CEO of The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) shares some shocking and compelling numbers about how education uses technology in comparison with other industries in the US:
It is my great honor to have been chosen as a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
I come to this convention with my heart in my hands, filled with pride about my country and its promises to our young people, and filled with hope that we can make better promises and keep them.
My father, who came to this country as a young boy from Italy, will be joining me as my official guest at the Convention. I come for him, who left everything he knew to make a better life for his children, and I come for my own son, in the hopes that I can make his life better.
More About Rita...
Learn Online Free!
Metro State College of Denver partnered with us to provide a free online course on the political process of presidential elections to include interactive discussion boards, video interviews, articles and documents regarding key issues. Course content will be updated to include interviews with delegates and superdelegates, as well as additional discussion topics. Rita is hosting the interviews on education.
Learn about our democratic process for free!
Click here to register!
