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Joe Biden Chooses Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential Running Mate

Joe Biden chooses Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate. Harris is the first Black woman nominee as a vice presidential candidate for either parties. Previous women who were vice presidential nominees were Geraldine Ferraro (Democrat) and Sarah Palin (Republican). Harris is currently a junior senator representing California. Kamala Harris graduated from Howard University, a historically black college and university (HBCU). Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Harris, a lawyer, was elected attorney general in California in 2010 and 2014. Harris’ parents immigrated from India and Jamaica. The Veepstakes have been going around for weeks and now Democrats have their marching orders…..Biden-Harris 2020.

References:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/08/11/us/biden-vs-trump

Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as his running mate

Kamala Harris Is the Third Woman to Run as a Vice Presidential Candidate for a Major U.S. Party. Here’s What to Know About the First

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When Is the Next Democratic Presidential Debate in 2019?

I’m glad you asked! December 19, 2019 at UCLA in California.

The debate will be aired on PBS.

Tonight’s debate didn’t really spend a lot of time on education. Hopefully, the next debate does. I believe that education FOR ALL is the civil rights issue of our time, which needs to be addressed NOW!

Read more about social justice education.

When considering a candidate to support for the Presidential Election 2020, education should be one of your top priorities as a voter  especially if you are a member of a minoritized group such as…..[click here for more information about education and the 2020 Presidential Election]

Read about the Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Election Education Platforms (listed in alphabetical order by last name):

Vice President (former) Joe Biden

Mayor (former) Michael Bloomberg

Senator Cory Booker

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Secretary (former) Julian Castro

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard

Senator Kamala Harris

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Governor (former) Deval Patrick

Senator Bernie Sanders

Mr. Tom Steyer

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Mr. Andrew Yang

Old Posts About the Democratic Presidential Debates:

July 30, 2019

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Kamala Harris’ Education Election Platform

I appreciate that Senator Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign site is also available in Spanish because that is reflective of the growing demographic change in America, which includes becoming linguistically and ethnically diverse. It’s interesting that her “Fighting for Racial Justice” blurb is last on her list of issues page. Was it an add-on or is she giving it special significant placement in the middle to offset some concerns people have about her record as a prosecutor and the convictions and sentencing of African Americans?

In searching for her educational platform, besides “Raising Teacher Pay” and “Debt-Free College and Student Debt” plans, I don’t see where she addresses P-20 issues. Hopefully these issues are addressed under her “Economic Justice” and “Fighting for Racial Justice” platforms since economic equality seems to be the way Senator Kamala Harris thinks we should go to achieve racial justice. I personally believe that a high quality “education for all” is a civil rights issue and would like to see detailed positions on how we can achieve this as a country.

“Raising Teacher Pay”

Teacher pay is one of her top platforms if we go with issue placement on her platform page. I will be delving into this policy more as time goes on.

“Fighting for Racial Justice”

It’s under this platform issue that Kamala Harris mentions the inequitable American educational system by citing Brown v. Board of Education. According to her site, “That’s why her teacher pay plan is designed to build a pipeline of teachers of color and inject billions of federal dollars into schools serving students of color. If a Black child has a Black teacher by 3rd grade, it makes them 13% more likely to go to college.” This is a sound idea backed by educational research. In fact, research shows that White students benefit from having Black teachers as well. Increasing the number of teachers of color is imperative since the student population is increasingly ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse as the United States’ heads toward a minority majority in the near future.

I think that seeding into teachers of color will also provide promising career opportunities for men and women who would not otherwise have this career option, which also helps with economic opportunities . . . Especially if we improve teacher pay.

Reference
https://kamalaharris.org/
https://kamalaharris.org/es/

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Joe Biden’s Education Election Platform

Former Vice President and Senator, Joe Biden, is a democratic presidential candidate for Election 2020. When looking at his educational platform, “Joe’s Plan for Educators, Students, and our Future,” I agree with many of Biden’s ideas. Like Biden, I believe that the government and our local communities should provide our teachers with all the support that teachers need to provide high quality education to our children from early learning pre-K to college (P-20). Additionally, closing the opportunity or achievement gaps is an educational issue I am passionate about; I believe a solution for this is focusing on the equitable resource allocation of educational funding in public schools. The unequal distribution of education funding is a civil rights issue—a detrimental factor in giving every American citizen an equal opportunity to live the American dream.

PRO: Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, has been an educator for over 30 years, so she should have a solid understanding of educational issues to assist with guiding her husband’s educational policies.

Increasing Teacher Pay

I will never understand why we don’t place the teaching profession in high esteem. We trust teachers with our most precious gifts, our children, why not pay teachers what they are worth? We claim that we want high quality teachers in our public schools, however, we are not willing to pay the price for high quality teachers, which requires increasing teachers’ salaries. The old saying “you get what you pay for” is so true. If teachers’ morale are low, which can partly be attributed to low pay because teachers cannot afford to earn a comfortable wage, how can we expect them to pour their best care and knowledge into our children?

Comprehensive Plan for Educators & Students

Biden’s educational platform is well-rounded, not just focusing on the political buzz phrase for the 2020 campaign: eliminating student loan debt. Biden’s plan is comprehensive, covering P-20. I will have to do a further review because he provides many details.

Reference:
https://joebiden.com/education/