Education: A Lifelong Commitment

My father came home from school one afternoon in the fall of 1929 to find my grandfather waiting for him on the porch. He was in eighth grade at the time. My grandfather, a German immigrant, told my father in broken English that he couldn’t go back to school the next day. His family needed his help on the farm too much.

During my childhood my father told me this story more times than I can remember. And at the end of the story he always stressed this: Get an education – they can never take that away from you.

It was from this experience that I developed my lifelong commitment to education.

Our education system is deeply personal to me. My wife Paula is a retired middle-school teacher and principal. When I served in the State House, I co-chaired the subcommittee that wrote the Basic Education Act. That act established the original student-teacher ratios and minimum instruction hours that education reforms since then have been based upon. This is an issue I am very passionate about.

The importance of a good education cannot be overstated in this economy. If we want a strong American middle class that can compete in the global economy, we need leaders in Congress who understand the value of effective and affordable K-12, technical and higher education.

Early-childhood education is one of the best investments we can make. Every teacher will tell you that to optimize a child’s experience in the classroom they must first show up ready to learn. Adequately funding quality early childhood education programs like Head Start is one of the best ways to ensure that happens.

We also need to make sure the rest of K-12 education is fully funded. We cannot continue to underfund Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) if we want to close the achievement gap that falls on racial and income lines. Closing this gap will provide a pathway of economic opportunity for more individuals and will help create a workforce that enables America to compete in today’s global economy. We also need to enhance career and technical education opportunities in our public schools.

Let me be clear: While I do believe there is a role for the federal government to play in K-12 education, I don’t support micromanaging our local schools from Washington D.C. We need to develop standards, but a one-size-fits-all approach is destined to fail.

Congress also has an important role to play in making sure that college is affordable for those Americans who wish to go on to higher education. Recent proposals to slash Pell Grant funding are not acceptable. Additionally, Congress cannot allow rates on federal student loans to double on July 1. Additionally, if we want to stay competitive with China and India, we need to explore incentives for students who want to go into STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math).

We also need to acknowledge the important role community colleges play in solving our nation’s current unemployment problem. They are invaluable tools in the current economy for retraining the unemployed and getting them back to work. Finally, we need to keep in mind the value of modern apprenticeship programs for technical fields.

Beginning with early-childhood education and continuing through K-12, technical, apprenticeship and higher education, we must build an education system that gives our workers the skills needed to compete in today’s global economy. This isn’t an option if we want to keep the American middle class alive; it’s a necessity.

We need leaders in Congress who understand that. I do.