Barack Obama in Education and Equality

On Education: Recruit 100,000 math & science teachers within 10 years

Here is Barack Obama from the 2012 Democratic National Convention: "I promise you we can out educate and out compete any nation on earth. Help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers within 10 years and improve early childhood education. Help me give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job. Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years. We can meet that goal together. You can choose that future for America."

And here is Mitt Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention: "I am running for president to help create an America where every child gets an education that leads to a good job and a bright horizon."

On Education: OpEd: STEM focus follows from Cold War ideology

And in 2007, the National Academy of Sciences put out a report called "Rising above the gathering storm," which emphasizes the need for significant improvements in science and technology education and investment. This influential report has impacted educational policies, driving an increased focus on STEM fields. We can see the impacts on Obama's 2013 State of The Union Address, when he announced a competition to redesign America's school systems. Reward would go to schools that developed more classes "that focused on science, technology, engineering, and math--the skills employers are looking for to fill jobs now and in the future."