[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 14 (Friday, February 11, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    GOALS 2000: EDUCATE AMERICA ACT

 Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, the talk about America's schools is 
troubling. Parents say that our schools are failing. Teachers say that 
they cannot be responsible for teaching things that should be taught at 
home. Students say they are bored and that the schools do not challenge 
them.
  Unfortunately, we cannot read the paper without confirming our 
suspicions about our educational system. The headlines scream at us: 
``Asians Do a Better Job of Teaching Their Children,'' ``Conditions 
`Bleak' for Rural Children,'' ``U.S. Schools `Squander' Gifted Students 
talents,'' and ``Saving Schools from `Mediocrity': Improvements Hard to 
Measure After Ten Years of Reforms.''
  Education is the one thing parents want most for their children 
because education creates economic opportunity. Ernest Boyer, president 
of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is right 
when he says:

       People who cannot communicate are powerless. People who 
     know nothing of their past are culturally impoverished. 
     People who are poorly trained are ill-prepared to face the 
     future. Without good schools, America cannot remain civically 
     vital or economically competitive.

  In a prosperous nation like the United States, students regardless of 
income or geography from Los Angeles, CA, to Limestone, ME, should have 
the same opportunity to have a quality education--one that is rigorous 
and inspires our youths to educate themselves throughout their lives.
  President John Kennedy once said: ``A child miseducated is a child 
lost.'' Regrettably, many of our lost children are from poor families. 
Compared with other children, for example, a substantial percentage of 
young people from low-income families repeat a grade by the time they 
reach the eighth grade. In addition, youth from low-income families are 
more likely to drop out of school than their wealthier counterparts.
  I am worried that our increasingly technological world will not wait 
for students in any country, including ours, to learn the basics. There 
is no niche reserved in the international marketplace or the American 
workplace for ill-prepared students. Rather than wait, the world will 
continue to grow more technical and specialized. Our students must be 
able to meet the challenge or they will be left behind.
  Everyone blames everyone else for education problems in the United 
States. Teachers and principals blame parents who take little interest 
in or responsibility for their children's education. Teachers and 
parents say children come to school with a host of problems that 
distract them from learning. Some children, for example, are being 
sexually or physically abused by their parents or guardians. Others 
arrive to school hungry and malnourished. Many adolescents come to 
school worried about how they will feed and clothe their own children, 
and too many of our youths fear for their lives as they walk to and 
from school.
  Parents, on the other hand, blame teachers and the schools for not 
teaching their children the basics, and are unhappy that their sons and 
daughters are being promoted to the next grade without being ready. Not 
surprisingly, parents expect schools to provide a good education 
whatever the cost.
  Several weeks ago, I read that the parents of a Maine student may not 
allow their son to accept his high school diploma in June because they 
believe the school has failed to educate him. This is the ultimate 
indictment of a failed school system.
  The State and Federal governments do not escape blame. Many people 
around the country cite excessive regulation and lack of money as two 
big causes for the problems in our education system.
  I often hear from Mainers that we need to make children our number 
one priority. I agree. Children are this country's future. This is a 
cliche that is nonetheless very true. Unless everyone takes 
responsibility for education, our children and our Nation will continue 
to be the big losers.
  The Goals 2000: Educate America Act will not solve all the problems 
with educating our youth, It will, however, for the first time set 
education goals for this country and provide a means by which States 
and localities can improve their educational systems. I believe this 
legislation is a good first step in addressing our educational 
problems.
  Specifically, the legislation creates a series of national standards 
for content of the curriculum and performance by schoolchildren. These 
standard are completely voluntary. States that choose to do so can 
submit their standards to the National Education Standards and 
Improvement Council to receive a kind of Good Housekeeping Seal of 
approval. But the bill creates an important incentive for States 
and school districts to meet the goals for education by providing 
Federal funds for reform.

  I believe that the Senate significantly improved the legislation last 
week by adding provisions to ensure it in no way federalizes education. 
Education has long been a State and local matter, and this bill keeps 
it that way. This is a principle that I do not want, nor do I intend, 
to change.
  I am pleased that the legislation included an amendment designed to 
increase parental participation. I cosponsored this amendment because I 
feel strongly that parents need to take a greater role in the education 
of their children. Too many students receive little encouragement or 
support at home, and they bring a poor attitude and low self-esteem to 
the classroom. We can help correct this by urging parents to be more 
directly involved in their child's school work and to encourage and 
help their children when they struggle. With this encouragement, 
children will aspire to succeed.
  I am also pleased that, at my instigation, the legislation now 
emphasizes the importance of health and physical education. Poor health 
and diet, poverty, substance abuse, sexually transmitted disease and 
unintended pregnancies have all limited the options and dimmed the 
futures of millions of American children. Healthy and fit students are 
better equipped to learn.
  It is my sincere hope that the National Education Standards and 
Improvement Council certify voluntary national standards on health and 
physical education and that the National Education Goals Panel monitor 
this country's progress toward ensuring that all students are healthy 
and fit.
  Many people in my parent's generation did not complete high school, 
but they still have made good lives for themselves. Today, I am afraid 
that children who do not complete high school and those who are ill-
prepared do not have the same opportunities that our parents or we had. 
There really is no second chance for them.
  We cannot afford to sell our children short. We must set goals and 
standards, and we must address our problems in education head-on and 
demand a rigorous, quality education for all our youth. Their future 
depends on us, and our future depends on them.

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