Heidi Alexander: “Not long ago, the State of Tennessee was one of two winners in the race to the top in education funding. I was very…”

“Not long ago, the State of Tennessee was one of two winners in the race to the top in education funding. I was very proud of the State. This was not my doing. This was their doing--the teachers, the Governor, and the legislature. Both parties worked hard. I came to the Senate floor last week and praised President Obama and his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, for their courage and vision on their K-12 education agenda, pushing for the holy grail of education, which is finding ways to award outstanding teaching and tying it to students' effectiveness and charter schools and higher standards, even common standards, and the race to the top itself, in terms of encouraging excellence. These are not easy things to do. President Obama is not the first Democrat, or even the first Democratic President, who has pushed these changes. But he is the first President of either party who may have a chance to actually get them done. It may just be easier for a Democratic President to do this than a Republican President. When he does these things, it is important for Republican Senators to give him credit for it. I genuinely do.”