If you have read my blog you will know that my son happens to have Down syndrome and issues facing individuals with disabilities are fore front to my passions. With that in mind the election of Superintendent of Public Instruction is a campaign I am watching closely. Yesterday I posed the question does expereince matter in this race? It is a mantra that has been thrown around quite often in this current campaign cycle and can be debated in great detail. I am not leaning one way or another yet in this race and am ready to be sold. I did receive this response to that post:
Anonymous said...
I agree with you. It seems to me that we have had 16 years of "experience" at the helm of the IDOE and the state still ranks between 45th and 47th in most educational areas. This is not really a partisan issue. If this election is really about change and you want to see the IDOE focus on helping kids in Indiana (all kids), the candidate of change is Dr. Bennett. Dr. Bennett, like Obama, brings a new way of doing things to the bureacracy that is the IDOE and has a new vision for education in Indiana. It is an interesting reversal that the the status quo candidate is Dr. Wood.
I will be very excited to see and hear what both Dr. Bennett and Dr. Woods visions' for the future for Indiana's schools will be. I have not seen a web site or stance on the issues yet from Dr. Wood. Dr. Bennett does have a website that gives some general information and some great soundbites on the ISSUES but I don't see the clear new vision and change that the responder refers to. But I also do agree that Dr. Woods 19 years of experience may not be the right direction either but I just don't have enough info yet to decide.
I hope that as much discussion as we have in the blogger world about property taxes, graduation rates and our education system as a whole that this campaign will get the attention that it deserves. I hope we get to see clear visions along with the detailed plans on how those visions will be implemented. I hope we get to see actual track records of accomplishments and face to face state wide debates and town hall meetings between these two fine candidates.
Let the discussion begin on the future of ALL of Indiana's school children.
Peace Dude!
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