WorldPeace responds to the Sanchez no plan Education plan
as presented on his ego centric void of issues web page at www.tonysanchez.com

<<Tony Sanchez Outlines Education Agenda 

For Immediate Release: Contact: Michelle Kucera 
Wednesday, January 30, 2002 (512) 615-1311 

LUFKIN - - Today, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez outlined his vision for education in Texas. Sanchez's ideas include a renewed emphasis on putting more dollars towards instruction in the classroom. >>

Sure he did but he did not say where those dollars were coming from. On the other hand, WorldPeace has committed to giving teachers a $2,500 across the board raise (which neither Sanchez nor Morales has done). Also WorldPeace has committed to legalizing casino gambling on the Indian Reservations (We already have gambling in Texas) and earmarking the state's income from these casinos for education.

<<Speaking at a day care center in Lufkin, Sanchez said, "Education is the key to a trained workforce and the fuel for a strong economy. Get education right and everything else will follow, get it wrong and not much else will matter." >>

Nice sound bites but where is the plan of action. Talk is cheap.

<<"As Governor, making sure our children are healthy and ready to learn in quality schools will be my top priority," said Sanchez.>>

Really. Tony's top priority in life has been to make money; even to the point of laundering $25 million of drug money through his Tesoro Savings and Loan. However, if one looks at Tony's web page, you will find that education will probably be his top priority because there are not any other issues on his web page; unlike the many issues and plans for implementation of those plans on WorldPeace's web page. www.johnworldpeace.com

<<The principles of Sanchez's education plan include: 

Freeing Teachers to Teach: Focus Resources on Instruction, Not Administration
Texas needs to concentrate school resources on instruction, instead of administration. The first step is to use modern business tools and technology to automate administrative drudgery. This will increase the number of teachers in the classrooms by freeing administrators to teach. Texas only spends about half its education dollars in the classroom and only half of all school employees are teachers. At the same time, we will involve each and every person on campus - - from the Superintendent to the school bus drivers, the cafeteria workers and janitors in ensuring the success of our students. >>

So where is the plan? Is he saying that we do not need these support people? Is he saying that administration is unnecessary? And what specifically is he going to do to streamline the administrative process?

WorldPeace has committed to making sure that every student has access to a computer no matter where he or she goes to school. WorldPeace is not going to make all schools equal because a school graduating 25 students a year cannot provide the resources that a school graduating 1000 students can provide. However, the minimum level of tools must be provided and in today's society that means computer access for ALL children.

<<Keeping Our Promises: Lowering Class Sizes
We know that smaller classes improve performance. Current law requires no more than 22 students per teacher for grades K-4. However, each year waivers are granted, breaking the smaller class size promise - - first made when education was reformed in 1984 - - and forcing thousands of Texas children into overcrowded classrooms. Texas needs to reduce class sizes in the earliest grades immediately.>>

Fine Tony. So where is the money going to come from? And since you are such an expert, where are these oversized classes exactly and how are you going to remedy those particular situation?

<<Making the Grade: Demanding Real Accountability
Instead of relying on high-stakes standardized tests to measure a student's success, Texas should monitor student progress continually, recognizing that true accountability means far more than just standardized test results. The true measure of how well our schools serve our students should not stop with test scores. We should consider other criteria, including: certification of teachers, the presence or absence of up-to-date books in the school library, computer-based learning tools, and whether the school facilities and environment support learning. Far too many children are being saddled at a young age with the label "failure" which can have a devastating effect on a child's future. Texas must come to the realization that if a child cannot read by the third grade, it is the system that has failed and not the child. >>

Great Tony. So where are the solutions? Test are absolutely necessary to measure a child's performance and the teacher's performance. But teachers cannot do all the work. I have four children and without the parent's help, the majority of students perform below their ability. Parents must see to it that their children do their homework and must stay in touch with their children's teachers. I will not place the entire burden on the teacher's for a child's failure to perform.

In regard to reading, it is very simple. Children must be put in groups and required to read aloud. Then children are placed in groups with other children on their level. My grandson told me he could read but when I made him prove it to me by reading aloud, he could not do it. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out. If a child cannot read, then his or her schedule must be modified to increase the time spent reading. There are many senior citizens out there like my grandmother who volunteered her time after retirement to listen to children read. We need to put a call out for this kind of help. It takes the burden off the teachers, helps the children and gives our seniors a sense of continued self worth.

<<Investing in the Future: Innovating Texas' Schools
While office workers and grocery store checkout clerks have been revolutionized over the past decade, too many school administrative practices remain mired in the past. Texas has made great strides in providing computers and high-speed links to the Internet to virtually every school district, but little attention has been paid to automating administrative functions, the very area where technology has brought dramatic productivity gains to private business. 
Over the coming weeks, Sanchez plans to outline more detailed education proposals aimed at making a lasting difference in Texas public schools.>>

Here we go again with administration. Its the classroom, stupid! Education is not a profit making business. You can have perfect administration and yet students who can't read or do math.

<<"A thorough reform of our public school system will not happen over night, but it needs to start immediately and make measurable progress over time," Sanchez continued. "Instead of holding our kids to minimum standards, we want to ensure Texas schools are focused on each student fulfilling his or her maximum potential.">>

So what is the first act Tony? My first act is to mandate reading out loud and immediately identity those students who cannot read and then modify their schedules to catch them up to their grade level.

<<An education leader, Sanchez has worked for the last four years to improve the state's colleges as a member of the University of Texas Board of Regents. The first in his family to go to college, Sanchez understands the difference a good education has made in his own life. As Governor, Sanchez's top priority is to lead a lasting reform in our public schools, technical colleges and universities so that they can make a positive difference in the lives of other Texans.>>

Again just a bunch of talk.

WorldPeace has promised to give teachers equal rights with students in the classroom. Children cannot learn when the teacher does not have control of the class. 

WorldPeace has also committed to placing children in vocational education classes in high school. This way children who have no desire to go to college can learn a skill that will give them a good paying job when they exit high school.

The foundation of the WorldPeace plan begins with money. And that money will come from the Indian Reservations. All the gambling money that now goes to Louisiana will stay in Texas and be used for education. In addition, WorldPeace has committed to reallocating the Texas budget and placing education at the top and cut services in other areas if necessary to keep the budget balanced. WorldPeace has also committed to a limited Robinhood Plan to upgrade the minimums in schools across the state; not to make all schools equal, but to make sure that all students have access to computers and the Internet.

The Sanchez education plan is a no plan. It is just a bunch of sound bites for the purpose of getting elected. There is nothing new in the Sanchez plan. Just more empty promises that will be forgotten the morning after the election.

Unlike Tony Sanchez, I worked full time for nine of the ten years that I went to the University of Houston. I have a BA in Political Science, a Bachelor of Accountancy and a Doctor of Jurisprudence. I understand the value of education and I understand that the majority of students do not have the determination that I had to educate myself. Therefore, it is important to me that children be prepared for college if they desire to attend and to be prepared to earn a livable wage after high school if they do not.

And lastly, as empty as the Sanchez education plan seems to be, Dan Morales has no plan at all. Morales does not even have a credible web page. Who knows where he stands on education. We do know that he tried to steal $250 million of the tobacco settlement money, that he expanded the Hopwood decision and thereby stopped thousands of children of color from going to college and he has a young wife who used to be an exotic dancer and who he now wants to be the First Lady of Texas and a role model for young girls.

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas
No more corruption. No more Monicas.
God Bless Texas
www.johnworldpeace.com

February 5, 2002