Forward Party & Education Reform: Navigating Beyond Partisanship
Andrew Yang's Vision: Merging Grassroots Change with AI-Powered Educational Advancements
Welcome to my thought exercise.
What if the people who still believe in the unsexy but most important education agenda - intense classroom instruction, data-driven learning, high standards, statewide assessments, and a focus on outcomes - coalesced under a third party?
The Forward Party, perhaps.
You're rolling your eyes. Please stop it. Suspend disbelief and dream for a minute.
I mean, neither the Republicans nor Democrats are interested in the optics of education and controlling its funding, not its effectiveness. The elephants sidestep accountability for academic outcomes and give every parent a Disneyland ticket. The donkeys push a single-minded education agenda of more money and fewer expectations.
Our students deserve a third group, one serious about teaching, learning, and results.
Enter the Forward Party, led by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang who campaigned on "Math" and could be an excellent pitchman to win over the middling American electorate tired of hate and desirous of solutions and progress.
I can list all the reasons you're thinking why this is a whimsical nonstarter. Third parties don't win anything worthy of winning. Even among third parties who lose constantly, the Forward Party has yet to be established as a mover in any notable way (yet), and they have been dodgy about taking complex positions on most issues. As of today, they have no education agenda (yet).
Add to all that the problem of Yang's uninspiring education agenda when he ran for mayor of New York City. His big vision for "revolutionizing education NYC schools" amounted to $1,000 for each low-income family to buy supplemental services and (yet another) promise to fix early childhood education without disrupting the K-12 status quo.
Now for the enormous reach I want to make. It's a fourth-quarter hail Mary pass for the centrist team about to lose to barbarians on both sides.
Consider how the Forward party principles and values could form a foundation for a thoughtful better education movement.
First, their three principles:
Free People: Revitalize a culture that celebrates difference and individual choice, rejects hate, and removes barriers so that each of us can rise to our full potential.
Thriving Communities: Reinvigorate a fair, flourishing economy and open society where everyone can live a good life and is safe in the places where we learn, work, and live.
Vibrant Democracy: Reform our republic to give Americans more choices in elections, more confidence in a government that works, and more say in our future.
And here are their declared values:
Bottom-up, not top-down: Forward empowers leaders to find solutions that work in their communities. We won't dictate a rigid, top-down policy platform and expect it to work for all Americans.
Diverse thinking isn't just welcome: it's required: Forward welcomes new ideas and fearless conversations around the issues of the day. We won't silence debate or refuse to adapt to the modern world.
Working together, not against: Forward strives for collaborative solutions. We'll make sure they work, and we'll try something else if they don't.
All are welcome, left, right, or center: Forward is creating a political home for everyone willing to work together in good faith to find practical ways to make this country better.
More listening, less talking: Forward is asking what we can do for your community. We will not ask what your community can do for us.
Grace and tolerance: Forward believes in approaching one another with grace and tolerance, finding ways to pick people back up rather than knock them down.
Collaborative. Inclusive. Localized. Nonpartisan. Pro-social. In good faith. And focused on "what works."
Sign me up.
If I woke up tomorrow after a three-year sleep and someone told me all of these were the new rules for what used to be called the education reform movement, I would feel like Dorothy back in Kansas.
Instead, I've been awake (some would say woke) to see the bitter, opportunistic, and divisive smash-and-grab mess that too much of reform has become, so anything that looks like a forward movement would be hopeful.
Some of us still believe we can close educational gaps, level the playing field for the least of these, and brighten futures. We still believe in the evidence that well-functioning education systems, built on proven practices, are among the best paths to a fair society.
Were it not for politics? Were it not for the errant and reductive discourse that often drowns us in partisan pablum? We could be inventive and great.
But, we’re squandering the opportunities to advance. Even at the dawn of an AI revolution, we’re lost in a left-right binary between quality-blind school choice on one end and no-strings-attached school funding at the other.
What happened to proficiency and preparation for post-secondary? Performance and practice? Gone.
This is where a third political party could lodge an informed, common sense agenda that returns us to the sobriety of evidence-based strategies and the promise of technology to get more students achieving.
A third way could renew interest in the science of teaching and championing research-based practices and utilizing scientifically proven methods to enhance pedagogical strategies, relevant curriculum design, and continuous teacher training that empowers educators with the latest in cognitive science and educational research.
But wait. It gets even more unsexy.
How about reasserting the power of data that helps educators closely monitor student progress through learning analytics, identify gaps, and provide targeted support?
How about asking (and answering) how AI tools can expand personalized learning, tailoring educational experiences to each student's unique needs? AI-driven tutoring systems offer individualized support, ensuring no student is left behind. AI-powered tools that foster global classrooms, making high-quality education accessible to all, irrespective of location.
How about a shift from traditional high-stakes exams to regular formative assessments that offer real-time feedback and put student assessment into a usable context?
How about creating transparent metrics for school performance to ensure accountability in education? Feedback systems empower stakeholders to voice concerns and suggestions.
How about demanding high expectations for progress and consistent learning benchmarks for our overall education goals?
I admit I initially dismissed Yang's Forward Party as another half-cooked vanity project, but the intellectual foundation built on "not left or right…forward" is compelling. Moving away from polarized political extremes to emphasize local governance and grassroots engagement feels right. The push for rank-choice voting hits two education policy totems - democracy and choice.
Many Americans are politically fluid, and I expect more in the next generation to go that way. Whether or not it's Yang's gang that becomes a viable third vehicle for creating a new education policy agenda, someone needs to build the next home for politically unhoused educationists.
The thought exercise concluded.