We need to change the mindset about why kids aren't learning. We've got to have a philosophy that everybody is our responsibility, that every child is our child. One of the most important things we can do is give them early learning and focus on early childhood education. We're also going to pay our teachers more and expect that teachers take advantage of professional development programs to improve their skills. After school programs and summer school programs can be helpful for kids, especially poor and minority kids who need a quiet place to do their homework.We're going to start kids on the track towards developing career skills. The government can't do everything -- parents have to take some responsibility and force kids to put away the video games and meet with their teacher. That's a change in attitude that we've got to have. Education is not some passive thing that you pour in your ear and you're educated. You've got to want to learn. Sometimes in our communities, we're not instilling in our children that hunger to learn.
Another person asked Barack how he will encourage home ownernship in urban areas. Barack said:
We've got to deal with the housing crisis, not just for the homeowner who stands to lose their home, but because the community will suffer. A lot of banks that are giving out these subprime loans are making a lot of money, but now they've got all this bad debt. We've got to stabilize the housing market. A bill that I've been working on with Senator Chris Dodd would have a fixed rate mortgage for everyone who wants to pay it. We're also going to put in better regulations -- I've introduced a bill called the Stop Fraud Act that cracks down on predatory lending. The federal government used to be involved heavily. The FHA was created for GI's when they came back home. I want to set up an affordable housing trust fund that will work with local communities to build houses. We should start with urban areas instead of encouraging suburban subdivisions. Environmentally it's much better -- instead of people driving for hours to get to work, they can take mass transit or walk. This is a way to relieve traffic congestion, and also allow people to spend more time with their kids.
That's all for day three of the "Road to Change!" Stay tuned for more coverage tomorrow.
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