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NEW YORK-- Mitt Romney softened his tone toward teachers unions and highlighted his record as governor of Massachusetts at NBC News' Education Nation summit Tuesday in New York.
The Republican presidential nominee offered one of the most detailed glimpses of his education policy at the forum this morning, laying off his often brusque language toward unions and playing up parents' role in the educational success of their children.
At the Education Nation Summit NBC's Brian Williams spoke with GOP contender Mitt Romney, who shared his positions on teachers unions, strikes and compensation.
Teachers' unions, long the villains in Romney's public remarks on education, received somewhat gentler handling from the GOP nominee today, who said he "understood" the unions had to look out for their members, and that they had a right to strike over grievances -- but that parents also had the prerogative to look out for their kids' educations.
"The teachers' union has every right to represent their members in the way they think is best for their members, but we have a every right to in fact say, 'No, this is what we want to do, which is in the best interest of our children,'" Romney said, before offering his prescription for improving the quality of teaching. "I believe the best interest of our children is to recognize that teaching is a profession, like your profession, like my profession, like lawyers, like doctors, and that the very best are more highly compensated and rewarded and measured."
President Obama delivers remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York City.
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The former Massachusetts governor spoke and took questions on topics relating to education for 45 minutes here today as part of NBC News' Education Nation summit, and gave some of his most nuanced views yet on the issues at the heart of the effort to improve America's faltering public education system.
Romney also softened his tone, but did not change his argument, on the issue of class sizes, an issue on which he's battled teachers unions before, both in Massachusetts and on the campaign trail. Romney has called the fight for smaller class sizes a union-driven issue designed to spur the hiring of more teachers. He regularly cites a study authored by the consulting group McKinsey & Co. which shows class sizes, within a reasonable margin, are not a leading indicator of successful schools.
Reuters, Getty Images
In the final push in the 2012 presidential election, candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama make their last appeals to voters.
Today, Romney said his experience in Massachusetts taught him that class sizes "turned out to be a factor, but not a big one," to successful students, but continued to push for higher standards and pay for the best teachers, and for more parental involvement in education.
"The involvement of parents, particularly two parents, its an enormous advantage for the child," Romney said after retelling a story he heard from a teacher in Massachusetts who told him the way to tell if a student would succeed in school was whether or not their parents came to parent-teacher conferences with regularity.
Related: Education Nation – starkly different visions from Obama, Romney
Education has been one of the top issues for Romney outside 2012's dominant theme, the economy. The former Massachusetts governor often turns to the topic of education in speeches before minority audiences.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke with NBC's Brian Williams on the importance of education, teachers compensation and early childhood education at Education Nation.
Romney held up several models for successful education reform; including his own tenure in Massachusetts, the reforms passed in Florida under Republican governor Jeb Bush, and the charter Harlem Children's Zone, some 100 blocks north of the site of today's event.
Romney even praised the current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, mostly for his efforts to reward innovative schools and for opening options for more school choice, but stopped short of saying he would offer the Democrat a spot in his own cabinet.
"I'm not putting anybody on my cabinet right now, Brian," Romney laughed to moderator Brian Williams. "It's a little presumptuous of me, but just a little."
The Obama campaign wasn't laughing along.
“Mitt Romney’s education rhetoric today may have sounded nice, but it doesn’t square with his record or policies, which are informed by the mistaken belief that we can somehow improve our schools while cutting their budgets and laying off teachers," Obama campaign spokesperson Lis Smith said in a statement.
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Can the man ever just say what he really believes and let the chips fall where they may?
I think most people believe that the Teachers Union should do what they can for the Teachers. Afterall, they do represent them and charge the Teachers for that service. However, what I have an issue with is them constantly claiming it is for the KIDS - they do not represent the KIDS they represent the adults. Tell the truth!!!!!
Also, I have a problem with the way they operate - - using dues to get politicians elected that they know will sign the contracts giving them benefits that they should now is out of the mainstream, even for businesses - and making the taxpayers pay for it with NO reprocussion if they do a poor job and the KIDS are not getting more educated - only the parents are getting poorer.
Political payoffs to get their way is contract that are out of the norm and which is what is causing most muncipailities major financial trouble today.
Flip, flop, flip, flop. The Etch-A-Sketch Candidate. He moves to the Far Right to get nominated, now he moves to the center for the general election. If by some God awful event Mitt gets elected, where will he govern from?
Give us a break Mitt' we know you Repubs hate unions and have for years.We also know why airplane windows don't open.
Flip Flop Goes Romney...
Obama Sweep! Now Leads in All Key States, Even N.C., Nevada, Colo.
Romney/Ryan [AKA] Crusty the Clown/Sideshow Bob....
We all know the GOP hates most educated people,except their GOP leaders. Educated people do NOT vote for the GOP. The party of bigots,Biblethumpers,Rapture lovers,white trashers and racists. The GOP is most popular in white trash trailer parks,the inbred,uneducated buy the GOP lies and BS lock,stock and barrel. Rush is their God who instructs them on who too hate today.
Tony,
Did you use "too" when you should have used "to"? Or, was that an uneducated, simple mistake?
By the way, you will find that most "trailer trash" votes DEMOCRAT.
You also left out that we republicans hate women, love dirty air and water, want the sick to fend for themselves and hopes that grandma falls off a cliff. Yes, "we all know that"!
Did I leave anything out, p(utz?
haha hes doing damage control....now since he screwed up least 50 times saying what any rich man would say bout anyone who makes less than him.... now wants to be buddy buddy....only suckers would wanna be his friend thinking he has changed !!!!
In many states, the amount of money spent on current and retired teacher's health care benefits far out spend the money that goes to the high schools and universities of those states.
Flip Flop....Flip Flop .......................all this from a man that wants the Windows on airplanes to open and doesn't understand why they don't.
To late Romney, you would sell out your mother for the presidency.
You are as trustworthy as a pit viper in a cashmere bag.
Fairly,
Did you mean to say "too" late and not "to" late? I bet it was an honest mistake.
It amazes me everyday the liberal media is just trying to look for something to hang him with. They are all jumpimg out of thier own skin trying to find something. That means that the Democrats are scared and I laugh out loud, because nothing is better to watch ,than a bunch of buffons drive themselves crazy. GO ROMNEY!
To bad the average american is essentially cattle following the one in front of it. These are Obama supporters.
Or just reporting what actually comes out of his mouth, whichever.
Sorry , got to go and open the airplane window, it's really smoky in here.
Mitt will do much better than our out-of-control, way in over his head Obama.
Really Brooks? If running a campaign is the first indication of how effective a candidate will be at running an administration, then it's clear that Romney is the one who is clearly in over his head.
I guess he's peeved about the ref strike, too.
Does this mean Willard is for the Public Sector Union worker, before he was/is against the Public Sector Union worker, or maybe he thinks his TEA PARTY Talking Heads aren't listening, watching. Maybe he's FLIP-FLOPPING again!
Can it be more obvious, yet again, that this guy will say anything he needs to say to try to get elected? How can anyone trust someone to lead the country when he's clearly as shallow in his convictions as the rivers in the drought-plagued Midwest? What a joke!
As Mitt and Lyin' ride Rafalka off into the sunset I can hear the closing credits begin to the 4 hour movie which was done in just 3 hours:
Ultra-conservative Mitt, we hardly knew ya'
No - he's EXTREMELY-CONSERVATE Mitt - remember?
There he goes again back peddling... This is why he is out. He reminds me of a cleaner version of The Texas Governor... ricky perry.
This guy is a plain Ole idiot. Plain and simple.
Flip Flop'n, If I was the Republican Party I'd start endorsing another candidate.......... Romney screwed things up beyond repair..........
Does he really think softening his view, or in some instances just plan changing it, this late in the game is going to change any ones mind?
Governor Romney, you cannot praise teachers at one time, while referencing them as "union thugs" at another. You cannot praise teachers, while calling for the dissolution of the unions that represents the interests of the teachers and the children with whom they work. It simply isn't that easy. Teacher unions are the bedrock of public education, working for positive change for the students, communities, and nation as a whole.
Let's see now - it's Tuesday, so that must mean that Mitt is changing his position again on a particular subject.
Weekends aren't Mitt's best microphone days.
Softened his tone? What he said was I'm sorry you're bad for our kids! And he picked one of Scott Walker's henchmen to be one of his henchmen for his Veep, so let's be serious; he, and by extension, the entire Republican Party, is anti-Union, anti- environment, and anti-everything else we Thought we FIXED over the last 50-100 years!