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Marianne Williamson on Education
Author & Democratic Presidential Challenger
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Full funding for all schools regardless of zip code
- Bias free schools that welcome all students regardless of background
- Community based schools that support the specific and diverse needs of students in each community
- Collaborative practices that support students, parents, and teachers
in and out of the classroom
- Strong unions and fair pay for teachers
- Full funding for modern facilities and educational equipment, and updated textbooks, in all schools regardless of zip code
Source: 2024 Presidential campaign website Marianne2024.com
, Jun 6, 2023
Getting rid of college debt will stimulate economy
I think that all domestic and international policy should be based on the idea that anything we do to help people thrive is a stimulation to our economy. If we get rid of this college debt, think of all the young people who will have the discretionary
spending; they'll be able to start their business. The best thing you could do to stimulate the U.S. economy is to get rid of this debt. This is not just about a plan to do it. It's about a philosophy of governing.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
Fund schools with federal mandate, not property taxes
The truth of the matter is we are the only advanced industrialized nation that bases our educational funding on property taxes. What this means is that a child in a financially advantaged neighborhood stands a good chance of getting a very
high-quality public school education here. But if a child does not grow up in a financially advantaged neighborhood, then the opportunities are far less for a higher quality education. There should be a federal mandate.
Source: CBS Face the Nation interviews in 2019
, Jul 28, 2019
Educational funding should not come from property taxes
Williamson said, "When I lived in Michigan and my daughter attended Grosse Pointe South, there were people who lived in Detroit who would rent apartments -- so that their children, even though they came from Detroit, could go to
Grosse Pointe South, which was a better high school than the one in their neighborhood." . Williamson said that experience is part of what drives her 2020 stance that educational funding should not come from property taxes.
Source: Detroit Free Press on 2020 Democratic primary
, Jul 23, 2019
Provide teachers autonomy as well as compensation
Another Democratic presidential hopeful, author Marianne Williamson, wrote on her campaign website that she would work to
provide teachers "autonomy as well as compensation that reflects their professional stature," but didn't provide specifics on how to cover salary increases.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
, Apr 15, 2019
Wipe out college loans burdening the young
You can't be all that you can be when you're so weighed down. How am I going to pay these college loans? This is where our economic good comes from. Economic good does not come from a few major corporate moguls who just drop some
crumbs off the table when they're in the mood to. Our economic good comes from the fact that each and every one of us are able to actualize the extraordinary, unlimited, God-given potential. That's why I want to take these college loan debts away.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 Democratic primary
, Apr 14, 2019
Favors Universal pre-school & free college
Supports universal pre-school
and free college.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
, Apr 14, 2019
Universal pre-school; more teacher retention programs
If elected, I will work vigorously for the following: - Universal pre-school for all children.
- Increased funding for free and reduced-price lunches, so that they cover breakfasts as well.
- A far more expansive array of educational
approaches, including social and emotional learning; conflict resolution skills; meditation and mindfulness; comparative religion; anti-bullying programs; and the fostering of other life skills to help prepare children for a meaningful life.
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We need to reduce the amount of high-stakes testing required and the associated model that unfairly associates teacher and school performance with the results of those high-stakes tests.
- Teacher training programs and teacher retention.
- Better
management of education infrastructure. Buildings and buses are some of the largest budget items for public schools. Multi-purpose use for buses would improve communities and drive down school costs. The same can be said for school facilities.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com
, Apr 8, 2019
Free college via public service; and student loan amnesty
If elected, I will work vigorously for the following: - Free college or technical school tuition for every qualified student. If we cannot find ideal offsets for this expense, I'm open to exploring ways that students can repay some of these costs
with a small payroll tax once they start working (based on Oregon's efforts) or through public service.
- Student loan amnesty. need to reduce the interest rate for repayment of loans to a nominal, if not zero, percentage rate. We need to eliminate
the origination fee on federal student loans.
- The most advanced matrix of technical schools in the world. Going to a liberal arts college is not the only option for higher education; we should create more opportunities for people who want to
work in the trades or technical areas.
- Low-cost education for those in middle and older age who have been dropped from our economy yet still retain, as all people do, the God-given potential to create meaning for themselves and others.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com
, Apr 8, 2019
Free college; low cost education for older adults
Williamson would advocate for legislation that supports free college education and
low-cost education for middle or older aged citizens.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
, Mar 5, 2019
Teach children HOW to think, not WHAT to think
For decades, the American public education system tried to teach children WHAT to think, avoiding its greater mission as a free society: to teach children HOW to think. Teaching children how to think means fostering minds that are questioning, assertive,
open-minded, and creative. We should bring up our children to be creators, not imitators, for only that prepares them for the wonder of life.This is an outlook that the perpetuation of democracy requires, but that an industrialized economic system
came more and more to resist. As we became dominated economically by the rule of industrialization, the tacit pact that American education made with industry was to provide the system with masses of Americans who would show up on time, do as they were
told, & not to ask a lot of questions.
A child would enter kindergarten excited and passionate. By the sixth grade at the latest, his or her passion was squelched. Passion is messy for an authoritarian system and frightening to those who live under it.
Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.113-4
, Jul 24, 2018
Page last updated: Aug 06, 2024; copyright 1999-2022 Jesse Gordon and OnTheIssues.org