Comments on an Obama Bill -- S.2111

I figure the best way to know a candidate is to read their damn bills. (The bill mentioned in this note was written/Sponsered by Barack Obama, with the aid of Richard Durbin, Bernard Sanders, and Charles Schumer)

S.2111 Positive Behavior for Effective Schools Acts a proposed bill
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2111/text

- I agree with the bill on an idealogical and logical basis. Good to focus on certain, if not outright proven, methods of rearing students. Haphazard, instinctive methods, such as, say, yelling at the kids or threatening them with a referral or detention, simply makes the kids scream louder if they have no respect for school itself. And a number of students have little respect for school. This bill has guts in confronting the abstract, and psychological problems of education.

- Puts the ball in the hands of local educations and education officials. The overall effectiveness of this proposed bill is subject to the brillance and/or bumbling of those people. Which is unavoidable, since a Congress in Washington is hardly in the best position to decide what exactly is the best, precise way to educate children. In regard to expansive social programs, they probably best serve as delegators, as guidance. This bill serves to balance Federal support with appropriate Federal restraint about the exact details of such programs.

- The proposed Director in this bill sounds like a good peson to have around, since it institutionalizes accountability. It creates a chain of command in this. I am unsure about details of the interplay between Executive and Legisative branches, but I hope there are yearly, concrete reports to congress about how the program is carrying on. The more accountability among politicans and The People, the better.

- Potential problems in its executive implementation. since promises made are different than promises kept:
1 - if both the Director, and the Deputy Secretary of Education is incompetant, and both the Sec. of Edu. and the President do nothing (which sure is hell is possible, because of the expansiveness of the jobs of latter two), God Help Us All;

2 - who is the best authority on "Positive Behavior Support"? Science is exact, but also slow, and sometimes contradicts earlier findings. And using science to raise a child's mind?--don't even get me started. Don't think this bill will simply create a perfect world in one week. If it works, it will be an arduous process, with a lot of disagreements among implementers about what techniques will work best. Parents and teachers will need patience. The bill is only a first step.

3 - also, the issue of religious instruction in public schools is going to hover around this bill (if the bill is even passed), and cause a number of ulcers

I am unfamiliar with the the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which this bill amends. That big bill, in its current form, will definitely have a lot of influence on how S.2111 would play out, and I definitely missed something that needs mentioning.