Virginia has become one of the key swing states in America over the past few Presidential elections and yet very little attention has been paid to the Commonwealth because of the early states voting away.
I decided since polling companies do not want to update your research from last November, it might be interesting to see how Virginia's political stalwarts of the area are marking their territory in 2016. This obviously has ramifications on the Democratic side with super delegates but considering the competition on the Republican side it is interesting to see just how split up they are. So here it is. Team Jeb Bush: Despite poor performances up to this part, Bush has the most official endorsements in Virginia. Not weird considering how moderate the state has become. Eric Cantor- The former Republican Majority Leader is showing his Establishment nature that got him canned in the first place for Tea Party upstart David Brat. He is on team Jeb. David Ramadan-Former House of Delegates member Ramadan was a Scott Walker supporter before his dropping out last Fall, he is now on team Jeb loudly and proudly. He also it should be noted has been an open critic of Donald Trump. Jerry Kilgore-Former attorney general announced his work with Jeb Bush this past September. John Hagar-Former Lt. General is team Bush all the way. John Watkins-State Senator did not mix words in December 2015, Bush has that elusive electability factor. Team Ted Cruz: Despite the win at the Iowa caucuses, many Virginians have been hesitant to back the Texan conservative, here are the notable exceptions. Ken Cuccinelli- Former Attorney General, Gubernatorial candidate and proud social conservative is firmly on Ted Cruz's bandwagon (even campaigned for him in Iowa after hitting the phone lines) Dick Black-No surprise given some of his political stances over the years but the Virginia Senator is on Team Ted Cruz, even making Cruz's website. Team Rubio: Always hard to tell what the future holds for Rubio but these notaries have thrown their hat in with the Florida Senator. George Allen-Former Governor, Senator, Virginia Cavalier quarterback and son of the great Redskins coach, Allen is a household name but his clout and political power have fallen over the years. Though it took him a bit longer, Allen backed up Rubio in an interview on FOX Business News in January and could be an important opening act on Rubio visits throughout the Commonwealth to come. Barbara Comstock-One of the newest representatives in the US Congress, Northern Virginia's Comstock has placed her endorsement on Marco Rubio according to a Washington Post article. Team Trump: Turns out most Virginians are staying away from Trump further than just about any other states to vote so far in the primary season. Virgil Goode-The former Congressman turned independent Presidential candidate in 2012, Goode is a bit of an odd duck and his "outsider" credentials make his endorsement of Trump logical (albeit not terribly effective though). Team Clinton: This list is short but that is only because it includes just about every ranking Democrat in the Commonwealth. There are no Virginia surrogates endorsing Bernie Sanders. This list is looking at the most influential and/or adamant supporters for Clinton. Jim Moran- House of Reps member in liberal Fairfax endorsed Hillary Clinton way back in April 13 of last year. No indication he has changed his mind. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine-Both U.S. Senators from Virginia have put themselves in the Clinton camp. Warner is even being floated by some websites as Vice Presidential nominee (although Julian Castro will have something to say about that). Terry McAuliffe-You better believe Virginia's Governor is squarely in camp Clinton. The Clintons and McAuliffe have been close political allies since the 1990s. The Clintons worked hard to put McAuliffe in office over Ken Cuccinelli and now they expect their investment to pay off as the Governor campaigns throughout the Commonwealth for them. Team ?: The people who have not said anything. Douglas Wilder- Former Governor and political lightning rod, Wilder has not officially endorsed anyone, on either side of the Presidential aisle. He did retweet a Politico article though about Hillary Clinton's poor performance in New Hampshire, making me think he is not in the Clinton camp. In fact, I could see him supporting a moderate Republican like John Kasich before either Democratic hopeful.
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It does not take long before you feel old as a teacher.
I was born in 1984 (great year I know) and I am now teaching students who were born right around 2000. The freshmen class of high schools across America were born after 9/11, I was a junior in high school on that fateful day. To give you some perspective on how quickly time flies, let's look at it this way. My son Kai was born in August 2013 which means, minus any unforeseen problems, he will be part of the graduating high school class of 2031. Oh my. As a history teacher I cannot help but think critically at the question many educators are asking: what will education look like in the future? In some ways education has changed dramatically. When I was in high school probably less than 10% of the student body had a cell phone. I had no idea what PowerPoint was and MySpace was the social media behemoth. In the classroom we still had an old school overhead projector with transparencies and I still used an Encyclopedia at home with my desktop computer. That was in 2003. So yes much has changed in 13 years and yet many things have not. We still have 90-minute blocks, the core subjects are exactly the same and many pedagogical practices are exactly the same. In some ways the technology has changed but the process of education has barely changed at all. So how revolutionary is this technology revolution? In the age of Google information is available for everyone and that presents amazing opportunities and fears. Is innovation really in the future for education or is reenforcing the status quo the raison d'etre? I am reminded of a great question asked my colleague and friend Ms. Tornello. 1. Are schools becoming obsolete? In the age of Google, will the classroom move from a physical space to the world wide web? If so, what consequences will this result in? Will Kai take classes online and graduate from virtual high school? Will it come at the expense of social skills and human interaction? What kind of information will he learn? The kind of facts rote memorization has enforced for centuries (but now seem antiquated in the age of search engines). Will it be the kind of skills that require critical thinking and analysis that millions of young people struggle with? How will we grade these skills? Especially when we move from the comfort of objective to subjective activities. How will we offset these needs with a standardized testing system that is still stuck in the early 1990s? Will Kai's education experience is radically different from yours? Will his parents and their fellow teachers be casualties of competition in the world of "Crash Course" videos and Khan Academy? Will he be better for it? What do you think? |
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May 2016
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