President Obama dropped into D.C.’s own Bell Multicultural High School this morning to rout out who cheated on the DC-CAS exams. Just kidding, of course – he held a town hall on Hispanic education, to be aired Monday on Univision at 7 p.m.
Nodding at the elephant in the corner of the classroom, Obama said of Libya, “Our involvement there is going to be limited, both in time and in scope,” and then returned to the matter at hand.
Parents, Obama said, are the “single most important factor in determining whether a child will succeed.” Interesting, given that Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson’s talking points always point to an effective teacher as the biggest determinant of a child’s educational success.
Obama said he is a “strong supporter” of the DREAM Act, which would allow some illegal immigrants already living in the U.S. a path to citizenship, and that “we’ve got to keep pressure up on Congress” to get the measure passed. He said it’s not appropriate to grant “temporary protected status” to undocumented workers, and noted that he can’t suspend deportations by executive order: “That’s just not the case.”
Obama said he plans to deliver the commencement address at Miami Dade College, which has a large Hispanic population. As for attracting more minorities into teaching: “We’re always trying to elevate the profession,” said Obama, adding that he believes teachers need to be recruited more heavily from historically black and Hispanic colleges.
