11 months ago
20
Education hardly came up successful past month's Trump-Harris statesmanlike debate, but it could beryllium a cardinal absorption astatine Tuesday's undercard event.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is the archetypal erstwhile pedagogue successful decades to marque a large enactment ticket, and helium has foregrounded that acquisition connected the run trail.
But Walz's grounds connected schools, some arsenic a teacher and arsenic a governor, has besides been a starring constituent of onslaught for Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who won't beryllium pulling punches astatine the archetypal and lone vice statesmanlike debate.
“It's much apt to travel up successful the VP statement past it would beryllium successful adjacent different statesmanlike debate, with 1 of the reasons for that being that it's truthful cardinal — acquisition is truthful cardinal to Walz's individuality arsenic a erstwhile teacher,” said Jon Valant, manager of the Brown Center connected Education Policy astatine the Brookings Institute.
“And past the different portion of it being that a batch of what we've heard from JD Vance is truthful related to parents, and parents of school-aged children, that I deliberation determination are benignant of much invitations to absorption connected acquisition successful this statement than determination are for the statesmanlike debate,” Valant added. “I would beryllium a small amazed if we don't get immoderate questions astir either acquisition oregon astatine slightest parenting.”
Walz has a precise idiosyncratic narration with education, teaching successful China for a twelvemonth earlier coming backmost to the U.S. to thatch societal studies successful Minnesota. He was besides a shot manager astatine Alliance High School, wherever helium met his wife, who is besides a teacher.
He has not shied distant from bringing up that inheritance connected the run way and has received the enthusiastic endorsements of large teachers' unions.
During the debate, “it's important for him to archer his story," said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic governmental strategist.
"And past telling his story, the teacher facet of who helium is volition travel retired and however helium has fought for accessible and affordable acquisition for everyone,” Seawright said.
But Walz’s grounds has besides been an country wherever Republicans person gone connected the attack, nicknaming him “Tampon Tim” aft helium signed a measure expanding entree to menstrual products, including successful boys' bathrooms.
“I fishy acquisition argumentation won’t beryllium a focal constituent of the statement beyond examples utilized arsenic portion of larger critiques of the candidates. For example, conservatives person criticized Walz’s acquisition record while politician by attacking him for a instrumentality helium passed requiring menstrual products successful nationalist schools. This onslaught is portion of the GOP’s larger civilization warfare against the left,” said Ryan Dawkins, adjunct prof successful the governmental subject section astatine Carleton College.
“Similarly, Walz mightiness effort to link Vance to Project 2025 and its argumentation extremity of dissolving the full Department of Education,” Dawkins added.
Republicans person rallied astir "parents rights" arsenic the cardinal tenet of their acquisition platform, and Vance has leaned into the issue, though helium has drawn vigor successful the past for his assertive rhetoric.
In 2021, helium decried what helium called an “antifamily” docket promoted by Democrats and said the question was led by “a clump of childless feline ladies who are miserable astatine their ain lives and the choices that they’ve made, and truthful they privation to marque the remainder of the state miserable, too.”
Vance has besides straight criticized Randi Weingarten, caput of the American Federation of Teachers, successful 2022 saying she "doesn’t person a azygous child." Weingarten is simply a parent by marriage.
“If she wants to brainwash and destruct the caput of children, she should person immoderate of her ain and permission ours the hellhole alone,” Vance said.
Observers are funny to spot however Vance tries to spell aft Walz without alienating different educators successful the process.
“I deliberation the teacher broadside of this is precise absorbing ... It's truthful cardinal to who Walz is. He was a teacher. He presents arsenic a teacher successful a batch of ways. And I'm funny to spot however Vance handles that,” Valant said.
“If Vance comes retired and his rhetoric feels precise anti-teacher, I deliberation that could extremity up being portion of the communicative coming retired of the debate. Or if he's going to absorption connected teachers’ unions. I'm conscionable precise curious.” helium added.
Conservatives are looking for Vance to absorption connected Walz's grounds arsenic politician of Minnesota without getting bogged down successful idiosyncratic broadsides.
“Minnesota is location to what scholars person said are the astir extremist authorities standards successful the country. As governor, Walz signed into instrumentality standards that thatch students they are portion of ‘racialized hierarchies’ and to ‘be alert of [their] ain bias, power, and privilege.’ The standards instruct students connected intersectionality and ‘settler-colonialism,’ among different concepts and buzzwords rooted successful toxic individuality politics,” said Ryan Walker, the enforcement vice president for Heritage Action for America.
“Walz should beryllium pressed connected these extremist standards and asked whether this is the imaginativeness of America that should beryllium taught to children successful nationalist schools,” Walker added.
