Political Quotes

“Senator Alexander said, ``It's time to put the teaching of history and civics back in its rightful place in our schools so our children grow up learning what it means to be an American.'' That is really what this is all about. It is about having history and civics as a part of what our schools are about and should be about. I acknowledge, as I did last night on the Senate floor, the leadership of the Senator from Tennessee, the former Secretary of Education, in pushing this legislation to the point where it is. I hope this is the first of many such measures that we work on here. I believe in local control of schools. But I also believe the Federal Government must recognize national problems in education and address those problems and help local school districts meet what I believe are national imperatives. Certainly, this is one. It is so easy to shortchange these courses. As I look back at some of the great teachers I had, they taught history and government on the high school level. A man by the name of Michael Callahan taught basic history and government in high school in Henderson, NV, where I went to school. But for him I am not sure I would have the interest in government and history that I have today. He allowed us to participate in government. He allowed us to understand history. He was a dynamic teacher. I believe that is what we are trying to do here--give teachers the tools they need to become better teachers.”