Educational reform, yet...not.

Now, I had a flicker of "hope" (yes, hope) when I heard Obama talk about education reform and that he backed merit based pay. Great! I was nodding my head yes and saying to myself, "Finally a golden nugget in a basket of crap." It may sound a little crude, but it was true. I thought that Bush with his NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND act actually punished the students, since the teachers get paid whether the same kid is in the classroom or not. However by giving raises to good teachers, maybe we'll have more, well, good teachers.

Now, that smile turned into a frown when I heard that he going to do away with the highly successful voucher system. You know, the system that allowed poorer students in high crime areas to have access to good private schools? The system that allowed ACTUAL academic choice? Why, Mr. President, shouldn't these two statements work hand in hand in order to take a huge leap forward in educational reform? Why, Mr. President, wouldn't you allow a program that is showing such PROGRESS to prove that it is a formidable replacement of the present system? It doesn't make any sense to me.