Political Party Platforms Improving Education & Educational Finance in Texas Essay

Abstract

This paper explores political party platforms and it is based on articles about Texas Democratic Platform (2012), Republican Party of Texas (2012), The Tea Party Platform. The paper examines the platforms of these three major political parties of Texas, compares and contrasts their positions regarding education and schools. This article also expresses ideas about improving education and educational finance in Texas. There are a variety of ways of developing a system that addresses their principles and this article explores what one will work best for Texas.

 

After examining the positions of platforms of three major political parties, such as 2012 Texas Democratic Platform, 2012 Republican Party of Texas, and The Tea Party Platform, I made some comparison about their positions regarding education and schools.

Texas Democratic Platform believes that getting an education is the surest path to the middle class, giving all students the opportunity to fulfill their dreams and contribute to our economy and democracy. Public education is one of their critical democratic institutions. They are committed to ensuring that every child in America has access to a world-class public education so they can out-educate the world and make sure America has the world’s highest proportion of college graduates by 2020 (see Strauss, for example). This requires excellence at every level of their education system, from early learning through post-secondary education. It means they must close the achievement gap in America’s schools and ensure that in every neighborhood in the country, children can benefit from high-quality educational opportunities.

They will continue to fight for equal pay for equal work, a strong labor movement, and access to a world-class education for every child. They will help lift people with disabilities out of poverty. They understand that poverty disproportionately affects communities of color and they are committed to working with those most affected by poverty.

2012 Republican Party of Texas directs on having an educated population, with parents having the freedom of choice for the education of their children. The party opposes the teaching of “higher order thinking skills” because it believes the purpose is to challenge a student’s “fixed beliefs” and undermine “parental authority.” It opposes, among other things, early childhood education, sex education, and multicultural education, but supports “school subjects with emphasis on the Judeo-Christian principles upon which America was founded.”

When taken with the other parts of the education platform, it seems a fair conclusion that the GOP Party in Texas does not think much of public education. Unfortunately, this notion is not limited to the GOP in Texas but is more commonly being seen across the country by some of the most strident of “school reformers.”

The Tea Party Platform believes that parents should be able to choose the best educational options for their children; the federal government should not exercise control over local schools; all teaching methods–including homeschooling–should be measured and made freely available so that parents can choose the best options for their children; failing schools should be shut down; failing teachers should be fired; collective bargaining should end in schools; union contracts that limit choice in education should be broken (see Meckler and Martin, for example).

A variety of perspectives are relevant for the school finance debate, and the legislature must essentially consider them all. First, the view that they believe is most important in finance discussions is that of educational policy, and specifically of incentives to improve performance. Second, school finance can be viewed from the revenue side – the equity, efficiency, and politics of how funds are raised. Third, school finance can be considered in terms of pure spending opportunity and equity.

In order to improve education and education finance in Texas there should be simple idea in linking the funding of students to the student so that basic aid follows the student if he moves to a different school. For example, the basic aid for a typical student might be set at a given amount regardless of the specific school attended. This aid amount could then be adjusted for a small number of cost differentials: district size, density, and labor market differences in teacher salaries.

 

References

Meckler, M. & Martin, J.B. (Feb. 14, 2012). Tea Party Patriots. USA,New York, 127.

Strauss, V. (Apr. 9, 2012). What Democratic Platform Says On Education? Washington, 1-3. 

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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