Jeff Bingaman: “Mr. Presdient, I rise today to introduce the Quality Teacher in Every Classroom Act, a bill to ensure quality and…”

“Mr. Presdient, I rise today to introduce the Quality Teacher in Every Classroom Act, a bill to ensure quality and accountability in Federal efforts to improve public school teaching. Let me begin by stating that I am a strong supporter of the hard- working teachers in American classrooms. Coming from a family of teachers, I know first-hand how challenging the work is. Having visited schools throughout my home State of New Mexico, I know how dedicated and professional the vast majority of our teachers are. And any time you talk to students, the conversation always comes back to teachers. However, it's also pretty clear that we are not doing anyone--neither teachers nor students--a great service by putting so many under- qualified teachers in American classrooms, and providing so little support to teachers and the institutions that prepare and support them. Too often, our teachers lack enough background in their subjects, our colleges of education are not rigorous enough, our state licensing standards are too low, and local districts have too few high-quality candidates to choose from. Improving teaching quality won't solve all of our educational problems, but it is at the heart of what goes on in individual classrooms around the nation. And as shown on the following charts, the state and national statistics are alarming.…”