David Minge: “today, we have seen quite a transformation of the nature of the debate. I think all of us remember the debate from…”

“today, we have seen quite a transformation of the nature of the debate. I think all of us remember the debate from yesterday, the day before. There was a great deal of anguish over how we would support education in this country. Would there be funds and assistance for school construction and modernization? Would there be money for teachers? Was this going to be Federal interference with local education? This body was badly polarized for all of us that sat and listened to the exchanges, horribly polarized. It is amazing. Here we are today, and it appears that we are uniform in supporting teachers in the reduction of class size. I think that it is important that, as we debate these issues, the Nation understands that sometimes the debate is rhetoric. Sometimes the debate is real. Probably even today, if one searched and scratched hard enough, one would find that code words are being used to illustrate differences that now we are more interested in glossing over. But I think it is a victory for the American people, for our students that we are focusing on reducing class size. I trust this is an initiative that is not just one that is being promoted here in Washington, but in State capitals around the country and in the offices of local school districts around the country and in the homes of the citizens of this Nation as all of us join together to emphasize the importance of small class size and the best possible educational preparation for our children.…”