Ok, Eric caught me. I used the Washington Post-ABC News poll just to poke fun at Ed in ‘08 again. With our current situation, someone would have to be off their rocker to list education as their top priority over the gazillion other things that are plaguing this country and the world. HOWEVER, that’s not really the point. Ed in ‘08 has demonstrated a type of hubris that is yet unparalleled in my recent memory. Not only did they think that they could singlehandedly make education into a top priority by throwing money around and producing unsubstantive and not-that-funny TV ads, but they decided that their three education “pillars” (if you can call them that) were their sole intellectual property as if no one else had possibly thought of these three things before. Here they are in all their simplistic glory:

1. creating clear learning standards,

2. improving teaching,

3. and giving adequate time and support for student learning. 

Are you trying to tell me that Ed in ‘08 is the sole proprietor of the idea of “improving teaching”? Is that a joke?

But back to the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Eric is right that we cannot draw sweeping conclusions or be that surprised by its findings. We can be surprised, and frankly a bit exercised, about Ed in ’08’s attempt to call their campaign a success in light of these findings—and others—that show education has made absolutely no headway in the national consciousness. The truth is that Romer and company—and Gates and Broad—had to cover themselves because they threw away 24 million buckaroos. And as for Obama mentioning education as his third priority in the last debate, that’s no saving grace for Ed in ‘08. What proof do we have that Ed in ‘08 had anything at all to do with Obama’s priority-setting? None and for Ed in ‘08 to take credit is the grandest act of hubris of all. Their only saving grace is that they didn’t spend the whole $60 million.

I admire Stafford’s passion, in joining Mike’s anti-Ed-in-‘08 crusade, but I think she puts way too much stock in the Washington Post-ABC News poll as a measure of education’s importance in the campaign. The poll’s question is just too simplistic, in asking only about one’s “most important issue in your choice for president.” Education is almost never going to be that for many voters—heck, even I probably would answer “foreign policy,” or “the economy,” and I work at an education policy think tank. I’d be a lot more interested in a poll that could tell us what the voters list as their top 3 or 5 issues. (And in fairness to Ed in ‘08, Obama did mention education as being his 3rd highest priority during the last debate.)

And given that other issues with only 1% support include immigration, taxes, the environment, and the deficit, education doesn’t seem to fare so badly after all. Even the Iraq war only gets 6%, while Iran and global warming get less than 1%. So while there are plenty of reasons to pan Ed in ‘08, I don’t think this poll tells us anything useful about education’s relevance—all we know is it’s not the most important issue for 99% of voters.

PS: Of course, Bush in 2000 provides a counter-example, when education registered as most important to 25% of voters (behind “Moral/Ethical values” and “Jobs/The economy”, and respondents were allowed two choices), but that election occurred during a rare time when all seemed well with the economy and foreign policy.

Two weeks ago, I had a bit of fun at Ed in 08’s expense. One of our readers accused me of unfairly picking on the poor initiative (get it?). Well, we could feel sorry for Ed in 08… or I could point you to the latest findings of the Washington Post-ABC News poll and we can continue our joviality. Question six asked, “What is the single most important issue in your choice for president?” Take a wild guess how many people picked education. Take a guess, seriously.

1%. Yes, that’s right, 1% of people think education is the single most important issue in their choice for president. What’s more, that’s down one percent from August when education was the most important issue for… wait for it… 2% of survey responders. Wow. (I know there is a margin of error here and losing one percentage point is not statistically significant, but still, a decrease is a decrease.) Predictably, it’s behind the economy, health care, Iraq, terrorism, and energy. But it’s also behind “morals/family values,” “abortion,” and “ethics/honesty/corruption in government.” Wow, great job Stronger Schools. Education is not even as important as governmental corruption. Of course it is unfortunate that education is not on the national radar (although it is on the states’ radars) but my sour mood was immediately brightened once I took another look at the Puget Sound Business Journal article that spilled the beans on the Ed in 08 funding stoppage in the first place. Ready for a laugh?

The foundations say the campaign has made education an important issue, and there is no need to spend more.

Oh yes, 1% definitely means education is an “important issue.” Absolutely. Which definition of “important” were you using here, guys? The one that says “important, adj.: to make absolutely irrelevant, laughably passe, and a waste of money”? That one? Silly me, I guess my dictionary is out of date. 

And,

“I think the real question is, are we pleased with the results of the campaign, and yes we are,” said Karen Denne, a Broad Foundation spokeswoman. 

Oh, which results are those? That education is the top issue for 1% of voters? Brilliant.

Though [executive director of Strong American Schools and a former deputy campaign manager for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign Marc] Lampkin declined to provide spending details, he said Strong American Schools has had 800 meetings or contacts with candidates, their staff or key advisers, has supported or attended nearly 900 events in key states and has collected more than 33,000 petition signatures. The Broad Foundation says about 4,000 news articles have referenced the education campaign. 

Since when was quantity touted over quality? 

And how about this part,

Lampkin said presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama have cited at least two of Strong American Schools’ three policy pillars: creating clear learning standards, improving teaching, and giving adequate time and support for student learning. 

Right, and obviously Ed in 08 has special intellectual rights to those three “pillars” and absolutely no one else could ever possibly support them. Oh, and I’m a rocket scientist in my free time. 

(HT to the ladies at Campaign K-12.)

It is only once in a rare blue moon that we get news like this. The irony is almost palpable. Detractors jump up and down with glee. Latent metaphors abound. It’s simply... beautiful.

What has me roaring with laughter before lunch?

The funders of Ed in ‘08, also known as Strong American Schools, are cuttin’ the dough. Oh yes, that’s right, the Gates and Broad Foundations have decided Ed in ‘08 is kaput!

But with Nov. 4 looming, education appears to have relatively low visibility. And the Gates and Broad family foundations have stopped contributing to the [Ed in ‘08] campaign after putting in a total of about $24 million.

I hate to say “we told you so,” (actually, I have no problem saying this at all) but really, we did. And if killing the initiative wasn’t enough, the excuses are PRICELESS.

“If we spend less than the maximum, it is because it is a reflection of the strategies we are executing,” said Marie Groark, senior program officer with the Gates Foundation. She acknowledged that it’s a tough environment for the issue to gain traction. “We are aware that there are significant competing priorities on the agenda,” she said.

This is just too good. “[T]he strategies we are excuting”? That’s corporate mumbo-jumbo if I’ve ever heard it. And “significant competing priorities,” huh? You mean like the fiscal crisis, the two front war, the multiple hurricanes and the blossoming deficit? Those priorities?

Or this,

For its part, the education campaign, branded “Ed in ‘08,” says it has been successful in steering the direction of the presidential dialogue toward education - if only temporarily - and that the Republican and Democratic nominees have cited its policy positions, particularly in recent weeks.

“Policy positions”? What policy positions??! As the wise and venerable Judge Judy once said, “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.”

Well, folks, what’s the lesson to be learned here? Fordham knows what they’re talking about, fo’ serious. 

(Thanks to Alyson Klein for brightening my morning.)

It still makes me gag to see people I think well of—Roy Romer, J.C. Watts, Joel Klein—sharing a letterhead with the lamentable and reprehensible Al Sharpton. Much as I agree with the core principles of the Education Equality Project and pleased as I would be if they and the Strong American Schools (aka ED in 08) crowd successfully persuade the moderators to inject education into the two remaining presidential debates, Sharpton’s name on that press release carries a most unpleasant whiff of racialism, anti-Semitism, exploitation and corruption that taints the entire venture. (See here and here.) Aside from all that, the paltry place that education occupies this election season is symbolized by the letter’s pleading tone. (Please, sir, could I have some more?) Sure it would great to hear the candidates say more on the topic—after they’ve dealt with the Wall Street meltdown, terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, health care and climate change.

Remember when Ed in ‘08 hired Kanye West to say that education needs to be a top priority? Now the group can put this line into their “Future of America” ad (which we parodied): “I will smash your camera.”

Today Roy Romer—formerly governor of Colorado and superintendent of Los Angeles Public Schools, and currently chairman of the Ed in ‘08 campaign—joins us to discuss Team USA’s heretofore dismal performance in the 2008 Education Olympics. Also, don’t forget to check out the complete results from today’s events at edolympics.net.

TO: Roy.Romer@edin08.com
FROM: mpetrilli@edexcellence.net
SUBJECT: Asteroids!

Dear Roy,

Hey, how’s it going? I see you were in Colorado yesterday; I guess Ed in 08’s lawyers gave up trying to keep the initiative out of politics, eh?

But that’s not why I’m writing. Look, I’m a little upset that you haven’t taken my advice from a few weeks ago to heart. I see that your team is still using the “economics” argument to promote education reform. That’s all wrong. Like I told you, those pocketbook issues are too fickle. The economy goes down but it also goes up.

What’s not going away is the threat of an asteroid hitting the Earth and ending life as we know it. But here’s the good news: just as I predicted, some good ole American students hold the key to saving the world. Check this out: American Fork students on asteroid watch. Get a load of this:

The 34 students on science teacher Curtis Craig’s “Caveman team” of the Killer Astroid Project arrive to upload their star-measuring software and asteroid database long before school starts. Then begins the long, arduous process of observing telescopic images for asteroid activity. Taking three images shot 20 minutes apart, they sequence them in motion. A small change in the image may signal asteroid movement. Recording the coordinates of that movement on a grid, students extrapolate the trajectory then submit their reports to Harvard University’s Minor Planet Center, which cues up its telescope to students’ reported coordinates. If the center’s telescope finds an image to match those coordinates, a new asteroid discovery is born.

And:

If they’re really lucky, their discoveries might help predict the trajectories of asteroids with the potential to one day hit Earth. That hasn’t happened yet to any of the teams involved in the NASA project.
“But what an honor to serve humanity,” Craig notes.
And if the students are really, really lucky? They could discover an asteroid headed straight for Earth, perhaps the sort that may have rid our planet of dinosaurs millions of years ago. That almost happened in March 2004, when the asteroid Apophis came within 24,000 miles of striking distance.

But here’s the kicker, Roy:

The hope is that more students find themselves interested in space technology careers.

Exactly! Again, here’s the pitch: If we don’t do something, asteroids are going to kill us all. Making sure some smart American kid gets a good math and science education is the key to saving the world. So tell it straight to the campaigns and to the electorate: no more bellyaching about health care or housing or global warming. We gotta improve k-12 education!

Cheers,

Mike

I’ve disagreed with Neal McCluskey before—about the federal role in education, the effectiveness of vouchers, the correct spelling of the name “Neal”—but I had a mostly positive reaction to his take, posted today on National Review Online, about ED in ‘08, the platform of which McCluskey finds as “inspiring as bologna on Wonderbread...without mustard.” I suspect Mike won’t like McCluskey’s disparagement of national standards, though.

The Ed in ‘08 chairman told ABC News:

My reasons are that the party needs to get on right now with a lot of business, including figuring out what to do with Michigan and Florida. It’s important to make known right now not only my vote but as many superdelegates as possible.

Asked if this endorsement was a problem for Ed in ‘08, he said:

My partner here, Marc Lampkin is a Bush Republican, a McCain Republican, so we are still one Democrat and one Republican who will be working even handedly.

ABC News implied that his motives might not have been entirely pure:

By making his announcement, Romer may have enhanced his clout in an Obama White House. Plouffe said the Obama campaign will seek the counsel and advice of Romer on education issues.

“Secretary Romer” doesn’t have a bad ring to it—though he’ll be disappointed to discover that the U.S. Department of Education’s discretionary budget is much, much smaller than Ed in ’08’s $60-million bank account.

TO: Roy.Romer@edin08.com
FROM: mpetrilli@edexcellence.net
SUBJECT: The Big One

Roy! Guv-nor! How’s it going? Eli driving you crazy yet?

Listen, I know it’s been tough-sledding at Ed in ‘08 making education a top-tier issue in the election. Maybe the general will bring you better luck. But it’s hard, what with the sinking economy, war in Iraq, worries about health care, $4/gallon gas, etc. I see you’re making lemonade out of lemons, though, trying to link the education issue to the economy. That’s smart. Plays on people’s fears. It worked back in the 80s (The Japanese are coming! The Japanese are coming!) and it could work today (The Chinese are coming! The Indians are coming!). That just might spark enough interest to get you through November.

But I understand that you have ambitions to keep up the advocacy long past this election cycle. And that’s where you’ve got a problem. For better or worse, eventually, the economy is going to turn around. The housing crisis will end, jobs will come back, and the American people will lose focus. Rather than fretting about competing with the rest of the world, their education concerns will turn to stupid worries about the “crisis of energy drinks” and such. (Remember the big education issue of the mid-90s? School uniforms, for Pete’s sake!)

What you need, Roy, is something that scares the heck out of people and isn’t going away anytime soon. A real existential threat. I’ve got it.

ASTEROIDS.

No kidding. Look, my Atlantic arrived yesterday (it’s not online yet) and right there on the cover it says: “It’s Inevitable: Asteroids with the power to annihilate us will come this way. Can NASA divert them before it’s too late?”

And let me tell you, as scary as that cover was, reading the article didn’t make me feel any better. We’re in trouble, Roy—big trouble!

But here’s the rub: some ten-year-old sitting in a classroom in Peoria might be the key to figuring out how to save the world. But only if she gets a great math and science education. Catch my drift? That’s only going to happen if her schools are held accountable to high, common standards; if there’s extra time for learning (about rockets and astronomy especially!); if her teachers get rewarded for their performance. In other words:

IF WE DON’T REFORM OUR SCHOOLS, WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.

So that’s my advice, Roy. Start talking up the asteroid threat. Test it out. I bet it plays well. Cut a couple of commercials and you’ll see education rocket right to the top of the priority list.

Cheers,

Mike

P.S. I think our invitation to the Ed in ‘08 Bloggers Summit must have gotten lost. (You don’t still use snail mail, do you?)

Photo by Flickr user snakeyes-man.

This is what $60 million gets you.

(The original Ed in 08 video is here.)

Ed in ‘08 mastermind Roy Romer—whose lively career has also included stints as the L.A. superintendent, Colorado governor, and Democratic National Committee chairman—let it slip today that he thinks the Democratic candidate who amasses the most pledged delegates should get the nomination. USA Today’s “on politics” blog reports that this standard

is likely to favor Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. [Romer] didn’t pick up on a reporter’s suggestion that the overall popular vote should matter, too. That’s probably a disappointment to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Romer was a national co-chairman of her husband’s presidential re-election campaign in 1996 and became general chairman of the DNC in January 1997, while Bill Clinton was president and the nation’s leading Democrat....Romer also praised Obama’s speech Tuesday on race relations in America. “When you get a hot one coming in, you don’t duck it, you look at it right in the eye,” Romer said. “I thought he demonstrated that.”

Ed in ‘08 has thus far bent over backwards to protect its nonprofit status, being careful to avoid praising or criticizing specific candidates. Careful, Roy...