Voting and Education

First I have to say, I am not a political person.  AT ALL.  I don't even watch the news (well hardly).  I'll admit I don't often know what the candidates are "pushing" for (I'm a bit embarrassed, but the news is so depressing, so that's my excuse).  Anyway, education should be one of the first and foremost issues of concern to EVERYONE, even those who have grown children or no children!  These children are your neighbors, your future caregivers.  If they don't get the education they need with good teachers and classrooms that aren't overcrowded, they will affect YOU.  Period.  If they don't know how to read (that's another issue as well--PARENTS--read to your kids A LOT), do you think they're going to be wise citizens?  I'll try to stick to the issue at hand, even though I so want to go off on a reading tangent.  If kids don't have a good education with the right attention they need in the classroom, how is their behavior going to be outside of school?  If their parents don't care about the state of education, what kind of influence do they have on their kids outside of school?  Possibly a negative one.  Well probably, not just possibly.  If teachers are just seen as babysitters who have SO much time off during the summer, our nation is very mistaken.  They need resources to help this nation that seems to be disintegrating.  The American family is in a crisis--really how many parents (and I'm speaking from being a former teacher) truly are involved in their kids lives relating to their learning.  I don't talk about voting often, hardly ever really, but education is so important.  I really don't want a bunch of illilterate, misbehaved, non-consequence kids taking care of me when I'm older.  When you decide to vote, think of how important education is, really.  Things have changed in the past few years in education, for the worst because of budget cuts in schools, and I'm not talking about teacher salaries, I'm talking class size, etc.  What happens in our schools, affects us ALL.