Bob Barr: “in my home State of Georgia, a record number of high school juniors, over 17,000, failed this year to pass a basic…”

“in my home State of Georgia, a record number of high school juniors, over 17,000, failed this year to pass a basic skills test as a prerequisite for graduation. This week the House of Representatives took steps to respond to this problem by passing a resolution condemning the deplorable practice of promoting unqualified students for social reasons. This must be viewed as only the first step. We must follow it by taking creative steps to increase parental choice and involvement in education such as encouraging charter schools, establishing education savings accounts, protecting the rights of parents to home school their children, and exploring the notion of school vouchers. For decades, teachers, students and Washington bureaucrats have tried to shape our education system, yet their involvement has resulted in higher and higher spending and lower and lower performance. It is time to turn things around. The fact is, bureaucrats and big labor do not, cannot and should not educate our children. Teachers and parents do, should and must. If we are really serious about improving education, let us not worry about schools, let us worry about teaching the hearts and minds of our students with parents and teachers, with the best interests of those students in mind.”