Obama is Clueless as to Education and Helping the Poor

Barack Obama has stated his opposition to vouchers and tax credits and other means to assist lower and middle income families in their efforts to find a decent education for their children. Especially in poor and working class neighborhoods, substandard schools are a major reason for the increase in crime, the continuation of poverty and a general depression in efforts to improve those neighborhoods.

One of the bright spots for families has been the possibility of sending their children to private, charter or parochial schools. This hope that their children can get a good education needs to be supported by the political and educational establishments. after all a well educated society ought to be an involved society.

Barack Obama though has publicly opposed these means to help inner city children. He opposes school choice.

So I asked myself - where does Barack send his children to school?

As luck would have it Jim Geraghty over at National Review did a small piece on the subject.

Allow me to quote part of the story.

Well, Obama’s daughters attend the University of Chicago Laboratory School, a private school. Malia is 10, and presumably just finished the fourth grade. Sasha is 7 and presumably just finished the first grade.

Standard full 2007-2008 tuition for grades one through four: $18,492.

For a fifth grader, it moves up to $20,286. If last year's rates apply to this fall, full tuition for both students for the coming year will be $38,778.

Because Barack Obama used to teach there, or because Michelle Obama is an employee of the University of Chicago’s hospital system, the Obamas most likely qualify for a staff discount.

Like I said, I guess vouchers might seem pointless if you saw private school tuition as jaw-droppingly expensive. These numbers from the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics for the 2003-2004 school year put average tuition paid by private elementary school students at $5,049, about a quarter that of University of Chicago Laboratory School's tuition for this year.

So I went over to the University of Chicago Laboratory school to get the numbers for myself. Here they are:

http://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/operations/registrar/tuition.shtml

Grade	2008-09 Tuition & Fees	Quarterly Tuition
Nursery School (Half Day)	$11,442	$3,814
Nursery/Kindergarten (Full Day)	$16,674	$5,558
Grades 1 - 4	$18,492	$6,164
Grades 5 - 8	$20,286	$6,762
Grades 9 - 12	$21,480	$7,160

It would appear to me that Obama has no concept of what average working class families sacrifice to put their children through private school. In fact his tuition costs reflect what many working class families bring home as a paycheck on an annual basis. ( 2 children = $38, 778)

And this guy thinks he understands the needs of the average working class or "middle class" family. I do not think so.

For the record John McCain supports expanding opportunities for children to get a decent education. He supports vouchers, school choice, tax credits and other alternative efforts to increase options especially for the poor and lower middle class families.