FREE ESSAY ON GORE VS. BUSH ON EDUCATION

GORE VS. BUSH ON EDUCATION

Gore vs. Bush on Education
Vice-President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush are both running for president, and
they both have very strong views on education in the United States. Their positions on
education are very different, but they both offer some good plans on reforming education.
The main differences are seen in the topics of college, testing of students and the
voucher program, teacher qualification, and character and discipline issues.
Vice-President Gore and Governor Bush have different plans on how to boost early
education and how to hold schools accountable for the success of students, but it is
evident that they both feel that these issues need to be addressed firmly.
Governor Bush feels that college students will succeed more easily with advanced science
and mathematical knowledge. He says that he proposes a $1000 increase in individual Pell
Grants to encourage high school students to take advanced college preparation courses in
both subjects. Bush stated that, "There's no reason for us to be next to last in the
world in math, and there's no reason for us to be last in physics." Gore too believes in
the importance of college, but doesn't say math and science are the key elements to
attending college. He notes that money is what keeps kids away from college. He proposes
to make it easier for parents to save for their children's college tuition with tax-free
and inflation free savings, the National Tuition Savings program. Gore wants to make two
years of college free with more student loans with lower costs, and expanding Pell
Grants. Gore says he believes that in the knowledge- based economy of the 21st Century;
everyone who is willing to work for it must have the chance to go to college.
George W. Bush pretty much feels that existing teachers that are no longer qualified to
teach effectively should simply be trained further, and he proposes to give the states
money to do this. He wants to use elderly people to come in and volunteer their time to
our students with using "Silver Scholarships" as an award, because he thinks that they
are highly educated. However, he doesn't realize it is really hard to teach an old dog
new tricks. Al Gore on the other hand says out with the old and in with the new. He
proposes to hire 2 million new qualified teachers within the next ten years, making sure
each and every classroom has a qualified teacher in it. He will base that qualification
on expertise and not seniority. 
Gore and Bush definitely disagree on testing students and voucher programs. Bush wants to
test every grade every year and to publish the results; he doesn't believe in national
tests, but proposes to make the federal government pay half of the cost for state tests.
Gore believes in testing and holding schools accountable for the success of their
students, but believes that high school exit exams are most important. He wants to make
sure every student holding a diploma will be able to read it, thus putting an end to
social promotion. While Bush favors the voucher program, Gore does not agree with the at
all; he wants to practically do away with it entirely, and instead bring about new
revolutionary spending programs on education.
When addressing the topic of character and discipline Bush and Gore both agree that it is
vital to reform both. However, while Bush would prefer zero tolerance and classroom
moldings of what he thinks to be a "distinguished character," Gore says to build on
second-chance schools, afternoon schools for teens, and smaller class sizes. Bush would
rather do away with discipline-problem students by sending them to boot camps, and
juvenile justice systems. Gore proposes that all kids should have a second chance at
success in life, and his plans should help problem kids. Gore says his goal is, "by the
end of the year 2005, every state working to close the achievement gap between different
backgrounds; rich and poor; urban, suburban, and rural. A school system that holds every
student, every school, and every state accountable for real results. 
Al Gore and George W. Bush both believe that a child's learning abilities and their
educational foundation are taught to them within the first few years of their lives.
Therefore, the reform of early education is vital to the success of our students. Bush
plans to make reading and phonics top on his priority list, with making sure that
teachers know how to effectively teach our kids to read. He proposes that these reading
skills should be installed in the early grades of first and second grade. Meanwhile,
Vice-President Gore wants to equip our 3 and 4 year olds with learning skills to absorb
the reading and phonics they will be taught when they reach kindergarten. In other words,
Gore feels that early education of all 4 year olds is a necessary stepping-stone to their
educational success!
While Gore and Bush disagree on many topics of education, they both seem to want to
reform it for the better. However, Al Gore has more realistic approaches and a more
sincere touch on the issues, where as, George W. Bush is obviously trying to earn
someone's vote with his arrogant proposals on almost every issue. They both, however,
seem to be lacking a proposal on how to address one very important issue though; and that
is how to teach our nation's teachers to effectively teach in a multicultural society.