[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 19 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DEMOCRATS' EDUCATION AGENDA

  (Mr. ALLEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Democrats' 
education agenda which will be unveiled tomorrow. It calls for 
modernizing schools and reducing class size by hiring new teachers. To 
prepare our students for the future, we must not only increase the 
number of teachers, but also improve the quality of teachers.
  I intend to introduce a bill this week which provides scholarships or 
stipends for outstanding graduate students enrolled in teacher training 
programs in math and science. These students would then be obligated to 
teach math or science for 3 years in an urban or rural public secondary 
school or repay their stipends.
  Among 25 nations, U.S. students ranked 12th and 9th respectively in 
math and science skills. Almost 50 percent of these students were 
taught by teachers who did not prepare in those fields. We can do 
better. I urge my colleagues to recruit and reward future math and 
science teachers for American children.

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