Sam Gibbons: “ensuring that our children have the best possible education should be a priority for all of us. However, we need to…”

“ensuring that our children have the best possible education should be a priority for all of us. However, we need to ensure that our education dollars fund programs that are actually and truly educating our children. Awhile back I read an article detailing programs endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education which encouraged teaching middle school students to play with blocks and use calculators, rather than teach them basic math skills. These useless programs have prompted over 200 scholars recently to take out a full page ad in the Washington Post denouncing the programs and calling for Secretary Riley to stop endorsing them. But yet programs like these still exist and are still funded with the tax dollars of hard-working Americans. Our children deserve more. They deserve educational programs that will actually prepare them for the 21st century. This year, let us make a commitment to our children. Let us raise test scores, but let us do it by supporting real education, not by lowering our standards. Mr. Speaker, I yield back all the dumbed-down education programs that have failed to teach our children.”