Edwards calls for overhaul of U.S. education

John Edwards, center, at a Des Moines middle school Friday to introduce his education plan.

Democratic presidential contender John Edwards on Friday proposed increasing teacher pay, establishing universal preschool, creating a national teachers university and using "education SWAT teams" to fix failing schools. "No longer legally separated by race, our children are sorted by economics, often with a racial or ethnic dimension," Edwards said. "We have to ask ourselves, why are the odds so stacked against so many just because of where they were born?" Education Week/Associated Press (9/21) , The Des Moines Register (Iowa) (9/22) , The New York Times (9/22)