Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, first, I certainly want to thank our troops and their families for their sacrifice as we exit from Iraq. It is my honor now to continue to bring the voices of my constituents to this floor. And the following is from Howard Tenenbaum. He is a science teacher in La Jolla, and I believe his class is watching today. He sent me his opinion on education: ``Weighing a pig every day doesn't get you a fatter pig. And annual testing of all students in all subject areas, without it impacting their grade, has not resulted in smarter students. It has made our students lose their intrinsic desire to learn and added an expensive layer of bureaucracy to an already administratively top-heavy system. ``This is especially true for science education. It is clear that the current accountability system has failed. Our students, parents, and their teachers are being held hostage to this failed system. When was the last time you were forced to take an exam, asked to do your `best,' and knew that the result wouldn't affect how you were being evaluated?'' Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Howard for bringing to the House his thoughts on education and this question to our floor. ____________________”