[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 157 (Tuesday, November 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H11716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
   IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL, AND QUALITY 
                                MATTERS

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, not everyone likes pickles on their 
hamburgers. For many years that preference meant a longer wait at 
McDonald's, because if you did not want what was already under the heat 
lamp, they had to do a specialty order. All those burgers under the 
heat lamp had pickles on them. But you did get a fresher burger.
  People who like pickles on their hamburgers, on the other hand, 
usually did not have to wait. In fact the burgers were already waiting 
for them, so they were less fresh and lower quality.
  All that has been changing. McDonald's restaurants now prepare your 
meals when you order them. This means you get exactly what you want. It 
is a fresher, higher quality product.
  There are two simple truths inspiring the McDonald's reform: First, 
one size does not fit all. Second, quality matters.
  Let us apply these simple truths to education reform. Instead of 
mandating new teachers, let us give the States and local communities 
the opportunity to ensure higher teacher quality and to spend that 
money on what they know will work in their schools, because one size 
does not fit all, and quality does matter.

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