[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 21, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1615]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        TEACHER EMPOWERMENT ACT

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                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the Sate of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1995) to 
     amend the elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
     empower teachers, improve student achievement through high-
     quality professional development for teachers, reauthorize 
     the Reading Excellence Act, and for other purposes:

  Mr. LARSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Castle-
Fletcher amendment to the Teacher Empowerment Act to increase teachers 
knowledge of classroom technology. It is vitally important, as we 
approach the 21st century, that in order to remain competitive in the 
global economy, we adapt and, indeed, stay ahead of the revoltionary 
technological advances that are changing our lives on a daily basis.
  Once a mere concept, the knowledge based economy is now a reality. I 
have often heard mentioned that the leap technology has taken is 
analogous to going from the dark ages to the renaissance, from 
clositered monks scrolling information for the scholarly few to 
Gutenberg inventing movable tpe, and exposing the masses to the 
knowledge contained in books. It is indeed a momentous change. But to 
maintain our position in the global stage, we must make sure that we 
integrate technology into our society at the most important stage of 
our children's development. We must integrate technology into our 
children's classrooms.
  To help our chldren maintain their competitive advantage in the 
Information Age, we must give our teachers the tools they need to 
integrate technology in the classroom. With this amendment we take a 
positive step in this direction. This amendment would allow 
professional development programs funded under the Act to provide 
training for teachers in the uses of technology and its uses in the 
classroom to improve teaching and learning. It would also provide state 
funds to Local Education Agencies and Higher Education Partnerships for 
development of programs that train teachers how to use technology in 
the classroom.
  The amendment is important because integrating technology into the 
classrooms is not just about wiring schools to the Internet. It is also 
about making sure that we integrate all aspects of technology, 
including voice, video, data and distance learning, into the curriculum 
and that we do so effectively. Our teachers should be trained to 
develop innovative ways to include technology in teaching our children. 
Not just to teach our children to surf the Web--although I suspect that 
is not the children who need help in this area--but also to develp ways 
touse technolog in actual subject matter.
  As a former teacher and father of three children, it is quite evident 
tome that a comprehensive approach should be devloped to place our 
cildren in a position to excel in this new economy.To that effect, I 
recently introduced a bill that will develop a strategic plan to create 
a national technological infrastructure to connect public schools to 
the information superhighway. It is only the first step in a three-
pronged strategy that will include infrastructure suport, teacher 
enhancement, and child development. In the meantime, I will continue to 
be a strong supporter of efforts that move our classrooms into the 21st 
century.
  In closing, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlemen from 
Delaware, Mr. Castle and the gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. Fletcher for 
teir visionin offering this amendment to improve the efficiency of our 
teachers and to prepare our children for the challenges they will face 
inthe coming century. I urge all my colleague to support this 
amendment.

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