[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2895-S2897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IMPROVING AMERICA'S SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, we have a great opportunity ahead of us. 
Next week, the Senate will begin floor debate on the Education 
Opportunities Act--a bill that will help America's children by 
improving the quality of their education.
  While education policy is primarily a local and State responsibility, 
the Federal Government does have a role to play. I am looking forward 
to discussing just what the Federal Government can do to improve the 
quality of the education our children receive. Few things are more 
important to our children's future than the quality of their education.
  Every child in this country, regardless of race, economic status, or 
where that child lives, deserves the opportunity for a quality 
education. Yet far too many children, especially in our inner cities 
and Appalachia, simply are not getting the quality education they 
deserve.
  We need more good teachers. We need safer schools. We need college 
access for all students who want to go to college.
  We must, as a nation, attract the smartest and the most dedicated of 
our students to the profession of teaching. Yes, we certainly have to 
invest in

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computers, new books, and new buildings. But we cannot ignore the 
single most important resource in any classroom--the teacher.
  I have recalled before on this Senate floor something that my own 
high school principal, Mr. John Malone, told me 37 years ago. We were 
about to go into a new building. Everyone was excited; everyone was 
happy.
  Mr. Malone came in and said to our class: We are about ready to go 
into this new building. We are all excited about it. It is a great 
thing. We have prepared for this for a long time. I want you to always 
remember one thing: In education, there are only two things that really 
matter. One is a student who wants to learn; the other is a good 
teacher. Everything else is interesting, maybe helpful. The only thing 
that really matters is that teacher and that student.
  What Mr. Malone told our class 37 years ago was right then, and it is 
still correct today. We all know a good teacher has the power to 
fundamentally change the course of our life. Each one of us, if we are 
lucky, can recall one teacher or two or maybe three or many teachers 
who fundamentally changed our life, who we think about when we do 
things, whose voice still comes back to us, whether that is an English 
teacher telling us how to write or maybe something our history teacher, 
maybe later on a professor, told us. Each of us can recall that teacher 
who changed our life.
  Those of us who are parents know how important a good teacher is. We 
know what happens when occasionally our child gets a teacher who just 
doesn't want to teach or who is not so good. We know what impact that 
has on a child as well. When you get right down to it, good teachers 
are second only to good parents in helping children to learn. 
Therefore, any effort to restore confidence and improve quality in 
education must begin with a national recommitment to teaching as a 
profession. This bill does that.
  First, we must recommit ourselves to attracting the best, the most 
motivated of our students to the teaching profession. That means 
offering teachers the salaries and, yes, the respect they deserve. 
Second, we must insist our colleges and our university education 
departments aggressively reexamine how they prepare our future 
teachers. Some are doing it; some are changing. But all need to 
reexamine what they are doing.
  Third, our teachers must have the resources available to allow them 
to continue their education after they enter the profession. The 
teaching profession is no different than any other profession. You 
continue to learn throughout the years. For example, in my home State 
of Ohio, in Cincinnati, teachers have access to the Mayerson Academy, 
which is a partnership with area businesses and the school system to 
provide teachers with additional training and additional professional 
development. This kind of support should be available to teachers in 
every community in this country.
  That is why, in the bill we will begin debating next week, I have 
included a provision that would authorize funding for the creation and 
expansion of partnerships between schools and communities to create 
teacher training academies such as the Mayerson Academy in Cincinnati. 
It works in Cincinnati. It will work in other communities. This is the 
kind of initiative that will help our teachers and our communities work 
together to improve the quality of teaching and, ultimately then, to 
improve the quality of education.
  There are other things we need to do and other things this bill does 
address. This is a good bill. When Members begin to hear the debate 
next week, I think they will understand how much work has gone into it 
and how it will impact the quality of education in this country.
  We need to make it easier to recruit future teachers from the 
military, from industry, and from research institutions, people who 
have had established careers, who have had real-world experience, and 
then who decide, at the age of 40 or 45 or 50, that they are going to 
retire from that profession and enter the teaching profession. We need 
to make it easier for them to do it.

  Getting this kind of talent in the classroom is easier said than 
done. For example, if Colin Powell wanted to teach a high school 
history class or if Albert Einstein were alive today and wanted to 
teach a high school physics class, requirements in some States would 
keep these professionals--I would say in most States--from immediately 
going into the classroom, despite their obvious expertise in their 
fields. That is why we have included language in this bill to allow the 
use of Federal funds under title II for alternative teacher 
certification programs. This provision will allow States to create and 
expand different types of alternative certification efforts.
  Additionally, the committee approved a separate amendment that I 
offered--and that is now part of the bill--that would ensure the 
continuation of a specific program designed to assist retired military 
personnel who are trying to enter the teaching profession. This is a 
great program. It is called Troops to Teachers. It simply helps 
retiring members of the military gain the State certification necessary 
to teach. It also helps them to find the school districts in greatest 
need of teachers. It is a program that has worked. It is a program that 
is improved in this bill, and it is a program that is continued in this 
bill.
  Troops to Teachers has succeeded in bringing dedicated, mature, and 
experienced individuals into the classroom. In fact, when school 
administrators were asked to rate Troops to Teachers participants in 
their own schools, most of the administrators said the former military 
personnel turned teachers were well above the average and were among 
the best teachers in their schools.
  Since 1994, over 3,600 service members, by going through the Troops 
to Teachers program, have made the transition from the military into 
the classroom. When we analyze who those people are, who is going into 
the classroom, who is going through the Troops to Teachers program, 
what we find is they are just the people we need. They are people with 
real-world experiences. They are people with expertise many times in 
math and science, something we desperately need in our schools. They 
are disproportionate to the population as far as the minority 
population, so it means we are putting more minority teachers into our 
classrooms. We are also doing something many professionals tell us we 
need to do; that is, try to get more males into the primary schools. 
Troops to Teachers is doing that as well. It is an exciting program 
that is continued in this bill. It is improved in this bill. It is one 
of the things that makes this bill a very solid bill. We need to ensure 
this kind of program, one with proven results, continues well into the 
future.
  Separate from the difficulties of the teacher certification process I 
have described, I am also concerned about the fact that many of our 
most experienced teachers, the teachers who in many cases are the most 
senior, are about to retire. The fact is, these experienced teachers 
are also the best resources in our schools. It is very important that 
we benefit from their experience before it is too late, before they 
leave the teaching profession. That is why I included language in the 
bill that will allow the use of Federal funds for new and existing 
teacher mentoring programs. New teachers benefit greatly by learning 
from the knowledge and the experience of veteran teachers. By pairing 
new teachers with our schools' most experienced and most respected 
teachers, those who have years of knowledge and expertise and 
experience in this profession, we can help retain our brightest and 
talented young teachers.

  Finally, the bill contains my language to expand the mission of the 
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, a national center located at Ohio 
State University that provides teachers with the best teacher training 
and curriculum materials on the subjects of math and science. The 
clearinghouse, which screens, evaluates, and distributes the multiple 
training and course materials currently available, makes it easy for 
teachers to quickly and efficiently access material for the classrooms. 
My provision in title II expands the clearinghouse's mission to go 
beyond math and science, to now, under this bill, include subjects such 
as history and English.
  The bill we will consider next week takes a number of positive steps 
towards improving the quality of those who make the commitment to 
teach.

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What this bill is about is expanding the support network available to 
our teachers: support for people in other professions seeking a second 
career as a teacher; support for teachers seeking to improve subject 
knowledge or classroom skills; support for teachers seeking new ways to 
teach math or science or history; and finally, support for new teachers 
from experienced teachers.
  In short, with this bill, we provide the kinds of resources that 
enable the teaching profession to build upon its commitment to teaching 
excellence. Mr. President, as we debate the merits of the Educational 
Opportunities Act, the bottom line, I believe, is that we need to get 
back to basics: good teachers, safe schools. That is what this bill is 
about--good teachers, safe schools. Parents will not have peace of mind 
unless they know their children's teachers are qualified to teach, that 
they are good teachers, and that their children's schools provide safe 
learning environments. It is that simple. That is what parents expect.
  Today, I have talked about teaching and what this bill does to assist 
the teaching profession. Tomorrow, I hope to have the opportunity to 
talk about the second component of this bill which is safe schools. 
Good teachers, safe schools. We need to get back to the basics, and 
that is what this bill does.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized.
  (The remarks of Mr. Gorton pertaining to the introduction of S. 2464 
and S. 2466 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on 
Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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