[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 93 (Thursday, June 8, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE IS HERE NOW

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                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 1995

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, last Friday, I had the pleasure of touring 
a school in my district which is setting the trend for the future of 
education. Mason Middle School, in Warren County in southwest Ohio, 
uses a state-of-the-art technology-driven curriculum so that students 
can easily enter the high-tech workplace and adapt to a changing world.
  If our world is transitioning to an information-based society, these 
students will be way ahead of the curve. As our current methods of 
production become obsolete, more and more work will have to do with 
information processing. Because of Mason Middle School's emphasis on 
information and technology, its students are being given the skills to 
compete in the work force of the future and the confidence to succeed 
there. Students also learn to appreciate the interconnectedness of the 
world, preparing them to interact in a global economy.
  When we create schools such as this, we are doing more than providing 
for our children's success in an age of ever-expanding technology. We 
are laying the groundwork for a new political system. Our system is 
based on democracy, or the will of the people. To express the will of 
the people, we rely on representation. Computers will make our system 
of representation more responsive. What began with polling by mail and 
then phone has evolved into direct communication and decisionmaking. 
Instead of relying on our Senators or Congressmen and women to 
represent us, in the future, we can begin to represent ourselves. A 
democratic system can only be effective with an informed and engaged 
electorate. Technology will bring us even closer together--creating a 
more participatory democracy.
  Using today's far more advanced computers, satellites, telephones, 
cable, polling techniques, and other tools, not to mention the Internet 
and other communication networks, an educated citizenry can, for the 
first time in history, begin making many of its own political 
decisions. I'd say that's pretty exciting stuff. And I would also say 
that I am very proud that a school in the Second Congressional District 
is leading the way.


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