Education makes for great political rhetoric
Election season rhetoric is filled with tried and tested appeals perfected across generations of hopeful candidates promising groundbreaking reform for the people of Guam — particularly to public education.
“Education, healthcare and public safety top almost every candidate’s priority list during campaign season,” said Mary Cruz, associate professor of political science at the University of Guam. “Candidates recognize that these issues have always been and will probably always be important to voters, and so they become a natural part of speeches, interviews, advertisements and slogans.”
There are 33,000 public school students across the Guam Department of Education, many of whom are from high-poverty households, or at least from lower-income families still struggling to make ends meet.
The reason why education as a platform has been effective, according to Cruz, is because many Guam voters have a personal connection to Guam DOE as either former students, or parents of students attending public schools.
“Education will be relevant as long as children have to attend schools, and today the perception is that our schools are failing in comparison to the nostalgia of the classrooms of our childhood,” Cruz said. “Candidates will only campaign to improve education for the good of our children. But whether or not they actually prioritize education when they get into office is debatable, and probably more of a reflection of the financial state of the government.”
Guam DOE this year is tasked with providing its student base with a decent education—on a fiscal budget that is $17 million less than what it received the year before.
Incumbent Sen. Joe San Agustin, current chairman of the legislature’s Committee on Education, said the likelihood of a candidate to live up to campaign education promises has a lot to do with practical experience.
“It absolutely matters whether or not candidates have knowledge and experience of the education system. When I ran in 2016 on the education platform, I just so happened to be the former chairman of the Guam Education Board,” San Agustin said. “Candidates who want to make education a successful platform for their campaigns need to get out there with the students, teachers and administrators.”
GovGuam retiree Bobbie Benavente isn’t optimistic about politicians’ engagement with voters.
“Government leaders have lost sight of what the government is supposed to do—serve the people of Guam,” Benavente said. “Forget about the military and tourism—how are those helping the people living in Zero Down? What we need are new leaders this year who prioritize the people.”
Former Democratic Party of Guam Chairman Kin Perez said candidates in previous years have campaigned on education as a means of gaining support among younger voters.
“Young people are looking for causes and ‘heroes.’ Look at the controversy over bids and protests over the rebuilding of Simon Sanchez High School. This was used by a gubernatorial candidate as a platform to gain the support of a particular district, and the faculty and staff of that school,” Perez said. “There are over 30,000 students on Guam who are exposed to their parents and families, teachers and school officials’ insights. This itself becomes a useful political tool for the parties who choose to become politically involved,” Perez said.