His fights for gay marriage and against a nuclear power plant propelled him to statewide office. A devastating storm and a push for universal health care defined his first term. And a relentless rhetorical focus on job creation propelled him to another two-year stint.
But on Thursday, as Peter Shumlin took his second oath of office as Vermont’s 81st governor, the Putney native adopted a new objective for his sophomore term: “to take a good education system and make it the best.”
On the most traditional of days in Vermont civic life, Shumlin broke the mold of inaugural addresses — typically a potpourri of policy proposals — preferring instead to focus entirely on education. In a 38-minute speech — punctuated by plenty of applause but few standing ovations — he told assembled dignitaries that improvements in teaching and learning are essential to the state’s future.
Shumlin’s argument was not so much that education is vital for intellectual fulfillment or even personal advancement. Instead, his was a collectivist vision emphasizing the economic necessity of a skilled and highly trained workforce.
Businesses throughout Vermont, he said, are demanding one.
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