Education


As a product of the public school system from elementary school through graduate school, and as a teacher, I have a deep understanding of the steps we must take to fix our educational system. We need to repeal No Child Left Behind, return control of our schools to parents and teachers, and make college more affordable.

Ending No Child Left Behind

NCLB has been a disaster. Many teachers, including many colleagues of mine, call it No Teacher Left Standing. I know of only one single teacher who has anything positive to say about the program, and he is the local Republican party county chair. There are many, many problems with NCLB.

We need to spend more time teaching our children, and less time teaching them how to take tests. Some students simply do not take tests well. This does not mean that they are bad students, or that they attend a poor school. If a school is struggling in testing, NCLB blames the teachers and takes funding away from the school. I know how hard most teachers work to help their students, and to blame teachers for all shortcomings is unfair. Additionally, schools that are struggling need more help, not less.

NCLB also forces schools to divert funding away from the arts and other extra-curricular activities. Opportunities to excel in sports, music, and art are integral to the American educational experience. We are losing funding for these crucial programs in school disticts all across the country because they must now pay for testing mandated, but not funded by, the federal government.

Returning Control to Parents and Teachers

This country and our people are far too diverse for a small group in Washington to decide on national education standards or curricula. Students in Nebraska have different needs than students in New York or Texas or California, or even Iowa or Kansas. Our teachers, parents, and local school boards know how to best educate our children.

I certainly understand the idea behind national goals, every student who graduates from high school in this country should have certain skills. One of the biggest drawbacks of NCLB is that it focuses too much on the minimums. Instead, we should push to see how far we can exceed those goals, and encourage our students to excel where they are best equipped.

Helping students make college more affordable

Interest on student loans is about twice as high as it used to be, and grants for college students (such as Pell Grants) have had their funding slashed. We need to reverse these trends. Grants should be much easier to obtain, and interest for student loans should be much lower. Students who spend two years in public service will earn scholarships and lower interest rates. We should look to less traditional ways to encourage higher education, such as providing incentives to businesses which help their employees pay for education such as tax credits or deductions.

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