Political Quotes

“the revolutionary idea that tomorrow might be better and that man can do something about it is distinctly American. At the heart of self-improvement is a quality education. The purpose of a system of public education is to give every child an equal opportunity for success in life whether his parents are rich or poor, black or white. In order to ensure that every student has a solid base of knowledge from which to build, we must have high expectations and hold schools accountable for the performance of their students. The American people and most members of Congress are in agreement that America's schools are not meeting this challenge. In fact, the longer our students attend school the further behind they fall in performance. More federal programs are not the answer. During the past three decades while student performance has stagnated, federal programs have proliferated. Today, our schools deny our children the basic principle of opportunity because they fail to adequately equip them for the future. What we need is the courage to change. America has always met the challenges posed to it with innovation, creativity and ingenuity. So far, in the education debate, we have been denied the opportunity to tap into this resourcefulness. As a consequence, our students have been short-changed by the focus on a top-heavy education establishment rather than on the quality of their education. Business-as-usual is failing our children.”