It is very encouraging to see the discussion of student debt and of early-childhood education, at least on the Democratic side, as well as the fact that standardized testing has been included among the topics not yet discussed by either party.

From our perspective, it would be very helpful to see a discussion of the efficacy of corporate “reform” of public education, of the mounting scandals involving charter schools and for-profit higher education, and of the broader issue of the preservation of public education as an enduring and necessary public good, rather than a more ephemeral corporate commodity.

It would also be very helpful to see a discussion of unions on the Democratic side–a discussion that might emphasize the very clear connection between a middle-class standard of living and labor unions, include some comment on the damaging effects of “right to work,” and promote some push-back against the exploitative expansion of contingent employment.