Dear Mister President

When I voted for you, I knew that I was getting a mixed bag, specifically when it comes to education. This is a guy all about change and hope and wanting the best for his country and its children, even if that means privatizing education. Charter schools and vouchers as concepts and ideals, provide plenty of hope and massive change for public education, but in reality the picture is much less clear. Any kind of reform requires commitment to a common goal, and leaving no child left behind seems to be the only thing that was ever agreed upon. And we all know how that has worked out.
Now, with mid-term elections just a few weeks away, my president is taking aim once again at education, linking it to the economy by suggesting that our future success depends on teaching our children better than we were taught ourselves. A valid point, but we continue to struggle with just what that future will look like. Not the "every kid has a video screen in front of them and projects his or her answers holographically on a display above their heads" future, but the what will my kids do when it's time to go to middle school. Or high school. Or college.
A recent study showed that giving teachers bonuses to improve their students test scores failed to achieve the expected result. They weren't giving the money to the right people. They might have had better success if they had paid the students themselves, or even given cash to parents who brought their kids to school every day. That vision of the future seems less likely. Then there's the "Race to the Top" vision, which on Monday took a slightly confrontational tone when my President said, “We’ve got to be able to identify teachers who are doing well, teachers who are not doing well. Ultimately if some teachers aren’t doing a good job, they’ve got to go.” Presumably to make room for the ten thousand math and science teachers that he wants to recruit and train. Along with this tough talk came the admission that “We’ve got to raise teacher pay generally,” to ensure that teachers can afford to stay in teaching. Somewhere in there is a message that seems to say, "Get motivated or you won't get to stick around for the big raises."
Mister Obama, I know it's been a tough year, and this next month and a half looks to get even tougher, but maybe you could use this time to go after some more challenging targets. The economy, for one. The war in Afghanistan. Global warming. Educational reform is as old as Plato, who we all know as Mickey Mouse's dog. Perhaps this program for "do your job or get out" could be applied to other realms of public service, if you catch my meaning. I don't deny that public education isn't broken, but I do believe that throwing money at the problem or trying to save it with a swift kick isn't your best bet.