[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           READY TO LEARN ACT

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, when E.B. White first saw television in 
1938, he said he hoped it would be ``a saving radiance in the sky.'' By 
including $10 million for the Ready To Learn Act in the fiscal year 
1995 budget, President Clinton has taken an important step toward 
achieving that dream.
  The Ready To Learn Act, passed by Congress in 1992, mobilizes the 
power of television to deal with one of our most pervasive national 
problems: children entering school who are not ready to learn. The 
crisis is staggering. According to a study by the Carnegie Foundation 
for the Advancement of Teaching, 35 percent of the country's children 
do not enter school ready to learn.
  The Ready To Learn Act addresses this problem by promoting the 
development of educational TV programming to prepare children for the 
classroom. It also offers training workbooks for teachers and parents, 
and uses telecommunications technology to bring such programming to 
isolated or disadvantaged communities throughout the country.
  Last month, I visited one of the leading PBS affiliates in the 
country, WGBH in Boston. Head Start counsellors from 11 cities across 
the country had come for training on how to use educational TV 
programming to improve children's academic readiness. Numerous 
educational programs, such as ``Where in the World is Carmen 
Sandiego,'' have been developed at WGBH to serve children's educational 
needs. The Ready To Learn Act will build on such progress, and play a 
significant role in school reform.
  It is appropriate that as the Senate acts today on two major new 
education initiatives--the Goals 2000 bill and the school-to-work 
bill--President Clinton's budget demonstrates the administration's high 
priority on this aspect of education as well. Last year, the 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting received $7 million in forward 
funding for fiscal year 1996 for Ready To Learn programming. Now, in 
his current budget, the President has strengthened and accelerated that 
commitment.
  I commend the President for his action, and I look forward to working 
with the administration to fulfill the great potential of this 
legislation.

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