Women for Obama

Three years ago today, President Obama nominated Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. This video takes a look at where she came from, and the impact she's had.

Mitt Romney says smaller class sizes aren't the answer when it comes to improving our schools—here's what a few teachers and students had to say in response:

"I teach 7th grade language arts. When you put 36 kids in my room for only 50 minutes a day, that is less than 1.5 minutes a day to talk to each and every one of them about reading and writing. Does Mitt Romney think that 1.5 minutes a day of reading and writing instruction is enough? Kids learn by interacting with adults. They deserve more." —Susan, Ohio

"Try teaching English in a classroom of 30-plus students. To improve student writing at the high school level, it is necessary to offer individual feedback on student composition. Without that, students do not have adequate direction for improvement. When class sizes become larger, it takes longer to read students’ work. The longer it takes, the less the teacher can assign or assess. It's that simple." —Jay, Michigan

"We as students do not want to feel like just another face within the crowd. Many of us have different learning styles and learn at different rates. If we were to have larger classes, then students would have more difficulty receiving one-on-one attention and assistance. The relationship students build with teachers is at times very important. I know for certain that it helped me." —Johnny, California

"The more kids in a class, the less likely that I will actually get to know them, and the less likely that I can advocate for them the way they deserve." —Kristen, Florida

"Education is not one-size-fits-all. The result of a large class filled with students from all parts of the spectrum: Nobody gets the type of attention and instruction they desperately need to work with their skill set and achieve their potential." —Rachel, New York

"Large classes mean more time is lost waiting for focus, recovering from transitions, and distributing materials. The fewer students are in a class, the stronger a relationship the teacher can have with them. As class size balloons, teachers are forced to spend more of their energy on classroom management instead of curriculum instruction, and the amount of constructive, qualitative feedback that you can give to students and families suffers. I invite any politician to try teaching public high school for a year and then talk about school system success." —Jennifer, Oregon

Are you an educator or student who thinks class size matters? Share your story here.

Help spread the word

Supporting President Obama wasn't always part of the game plan for Janice, a business analyst and gay woman from Colorado—in fact, she voted for Senator McCain in 2008.

But the last few weeks have changed her mind.

"I'm a Reagan Republican," she explains. "I voted pretty much consistently Republican for most of my life for economic reasons. I'm used to my friends telling me I'm too conservative. And as much as I appreciate the Obamas, that wasn't necessarily where I stood.

"However, having a committed partner and knowing some of the issues we deal with, having leaders who support us has gotten more important to me. So I was very proud of President Obama and Vice President Biden for standing up for me and equality in such a straightforward way with their support of gay marriage. I really liked the way Vice President Biden said 'the Republican Party now is not the Republican Party of our fathers.' He is so right."

Today, Janice says her choice is clear:

"I am going to vote for President Obama and I am very happy about that."

As for her friends: "They were all pretty amazed—but I just told them why, and I told them it made a big difference to me. When I'm in the hospital, I want my partner there. When I go to apply for a job, I look to see whether they're going to discriminate against me. That's something that's just as relevant to me every day as my paycheck. So they're all ecstatic—especially my gay and lesbian friends."

President Obama's support for same-sex marriage "isn't just a social issue," Janice adds. "It has an impact on health care and the economy. Over the last year, I was out of work for six months because of downsizing. Because of the job loss, I also lost health benefits. With a straight couple, as long as one spouse is working, their partner receives the working spouse's benefits. That's much harder for same-sex partners. So I hope I can relay back to people how related these issues are."

Moving forward, Janice anticipates a different kind of conversation about equality.

"I think it's had a lasting impact. To hear President Obama and Vice President Biden lead on this issue in such a nice way and to have this support at that level—I think what it's done is bring it more into the open.

"I think there are a lot of people who have supported gay marriage but haven't wanted to come out vocally in favor. Because of the way the President and Vice President handled it, those people are more willing to voice their support. So from a neighborhood to a community to a state, we're spreading grassroots acceptance instead of 'let's not talk about this.' Today, people are saying, 'Well, the President of the United States did it, and he seems like a good guy.'"

Join LGBT Americans for Obama