Schwarzenegger Speaks

Along with billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, Governor Schwarzenegger spoke at the Education Writers Association annual meeting in Los Angeles today (I'm here as a panelist). As someone who's seen the The Terminator more times than I'd care to admit (okay, 30), I have to say it was kind of cool.

The panelists were seated in a single row on the stage, with a big wooden podium on the side. About halfway through the session, after Broad had finished speaking, the governor suddenly sat up, walked over to the podium, grabbed it, and deliberately hauled it back about five feet. Then he says (turn on your mental Schwarzenegger accent now), "I wanted to be sure the podium wasn't blocking the view of the people over on the side there." (It was.) Then he continues, "Plus my chest is sticking out so people can't see Eli here." Everyone laughs.

So, in the space of about 15 seconds, the governor shows awareness, robust physicality, uncommon concern for the people relegated to the side of the room, spontaneity, unpredictability, light self-deprecation, and good humour. When the governor sees a problem, he doesn't wait for permission or ask for help--he fixes it, with his bare hands. How do you go from Conan the Destroyer to the California governor's office? Like that.

A lot of the discussion focused on ED in 08, the new $60 million initiative funded by the Gates and Broad Foundations (both of which have funded Education Sector) to put education reform in the center of the 2008 presidential election agenda. Broad said his goal is to raise the standard of discourse, to not let candidates get away with the "pablum" of simply saying "I'm in favor of better schools and better teachers." This strikes me as an important goal. Political candidates often free-ride on the public's broad support for education without ever putting any concrete proposals on the table and owning up to their monetary or political price tag.

One complication, however, is that ED in 08 (also known as Strong American Schools), isn't just pushing candidates to have some real education agenda; it also wants them to support a specific trio of policies: more learning time for students, common academic standards across states, and tying teacher pay to things like subject specialty, performance, and working in high-poverty schools.

The politically controversial aspects of some of these issues aside, I wonder how ED in 08 will react if a major political candidate puts forth an education agenda that meets the test of seriousness, but doesn't focus on these issues. Is a genuine commitment to education as a first-tier issue enough, or does the policy agenda have to fall in line too?

Strong American Schools is being led by former Los Angeles Unified Schools Superintendent and Colorado governor Roy Romer, who has a blog. Perhaps we'll find out on the postings there as the campaign heats up.