Issue Position: Creating a Culture of Educational Excellence

Issue Position

As someone who has been in higher education as a student and teacher now for over 20 years I know very well the value of a quality education. I am also very aware of the investment of time and money it takes to earn a college education and degree. Like many of my students I teach at Austin Peay State University I juggled family, working full-time and attending school full-time. When you sacrifice so much to pursue your education, in time and money, you really want to be sure that diploma, that "piece of paper" at the end of the "paper chase" will help you realize your goals and dreams.

Unfortunately, we have far too many Americans graduating today with sub-par skills and less than ideal workplace readiness. Here in Tennessee, we rank far too low on far too many measurements of academic performance.

Whether it is in graduation rates, skill testing, or even basic literacy and mathematical computation, we need to do a better job of equipping our children for success from day one all the way through higher education.

How do we attain these goals? It begins with a genuine commitment to creating and fostering a culture of educational excellence. We must make it clear that we simply won't accept or embrace mediocrity, whether it comes from those teaching, those administering or those learning. We need to inspire, train and equip good teachers and then support them in every way possible so that they may pursue their passion and develop into great teachers. We need to keep what is best from the No Child Left Behind Act, which seems to be certainly more of an emphasis on measurability, outcome based teaching and accountability while reformatting the rest. We should not be solely focused upon creating a generation of teachers and students who are teaching and learning solely to pass a uniform test but we need also to ensure we are developing students who are well equipped with many skills to compete and thrive in today's global workforce. In short, we need to be sure we are letting good teachers teach and not unintentionally turning them into paper-pushers or technocrats. There must be a restoration of a balance in our educational system that appears to be in an imbalance currently. However, we should never lose sight that the focus within our educational system at all levels must be upon the student and his or her needs, a true student-centered educational system is one that is successful only when its students are allowed to reach their potential.

As your Congressman, I would make helping Tennessee become a leader in educational preparedness one of my top priorities. I also believe we should do everything we can to enhance access and affordability to quality education for all our students. As such, I believe that the recent US House passage of H.R. 3221 -- The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 is generally a positive step in the right direction. While my opponent voted against this initiative, this legislation smartly picked up many of the President's goals under the American Graduation Initiative or AGI that make good sense for our students here in Tennessee. These included reforming student lending, simplifying tuition aid and loan application forms, increasing the amount for granting under the Pell program, and provided for incentives and competitive grants to institutes of higher learning, states, non-profits and philanthropic organizations which foster knowledge about and increase the overall number of students who obtain postsecondary degrees or certificates. This legislation also provides more funding for Cooperative Education programs that enable students to do alternating or parallel periods of study and employment. It also provides grant repayment waivers and loan forgiveness to students for grant or loan periods for which they do not earn credit due to active duty in serving our nation in the Armed Forces. I support such provisions. (Click here to read the full bill).

Retaining students in school and doing everything possible to ensure they graduate though should not be the end of the story but only the beginning. By applying the research triangle model so often used in higher education which focuses the resources and contributions of academia, the private sector and government towards applied knowledge, I believe we can do more at an early stage to ensure our students not only graduate but graduate with good paying jobs. The high price of education means we should make sure students and their parents and sponsors are getting their money's worth with highly skilled, marketable and work-ready graduates.

As your Congressman, I would also work with lawmakers, administrators and bureaucrats at all levels in the education field to help make sure there is consensus on what a student-centered system means. In part, it means doing what is best for our Tennessee students and not allowing what is best for bureaucrats to be the driving force in our decision-making. We must all be open to re-examining how we conduct the business of educating our students and be open to revamping and streamlining the system and be ready to learn from other states if it means improving our national ranking as a state.

In short, Education is and must continue to be the bridge to opportunity for all Americans, all Tennesseans now and to the future. As your Congressman, I will do everything I can to make sure this bridge is strong and secure. Now and for years to come.

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