Education Reform

Education is still an issue across the country as funding for public school funding continues to be cut.

To Nixon, education is more than a policy but a value which must be protected. His education rhetoric focuses on two areas:

1: Funding for public schools during the recession

2: Providing ways to make college more affordable to students.

“For Governor Jay Nixon, public education is a value.”

His message highlights the increase in high school graduation rates and raising standardized test scores during his administration.


The language that he uses indicates that he believes education is more than a policy. As the incumbent, his rhetoric focuses on what he has done instead of what he will do. 


For Spence, the issue of education is inseparable from the economy.

If our children are not educated in a system that works well then the economy and workforce will suffer. Spence explains that a child’s education is key to whether or not they can succeed in the current economy and job market.
“Our children cannot be competitive in the 21st century workforce if we fail them in their formative years.”  

Spence repeatedly refers to the would be high school graduates as part of a “1st century workforce” while Nixon promotes the possibility of more affordable higher education.

Nixon’s policies are vague and he get away with it. He, as the incumbent, can rely on his experience and explain what he has done in detail instead of his plans.

Spence details a very rigorous education reform plan that he titles, Back to the Basics. This plan not only provides ways for students to get the most out of school, but also concentrates on assisting other options students have, such as attending a trade school. Not just college.

Journalists tend to lean more towards reporting how funding for education and how education reform affects the state budget. This trend of rhetoric is more common with Spence’s message that education and the economy are connected.

The journalism coverage of education links money and education quality, but follows Nixon’s emphasis on college performance of students across the state rather than how education funding can affect the workforce.

Overall, the rhetoric of education comes back to money, whether it has to do with funding or educations, connections to the economy. http://www.all4ed.org/files/Missouri_wc.pdf