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Mike Gravel on Education
This candidate has withdrawn from the election
"We are failing our children, 1/3 do not graduate from high school... how can we not fail when we make the number one priority in this country the military industrial complex... there is no money left [for education] [which] should be our highest priority."
He says he would increase funding for public education by cutting defense spending by more than 15 percent.
Education in America must be properly funded. However, money will not solve all the problems. For example, Washington D.C. ranks first in dollars spent, yet ranks last in achievement. We need to approach education comprehensively. We must properly fund education while raising the overall standard of living in America and making education a vital part of a healthy, thriving community.
"We need to rethink the way we finance education, and that is by a property tax that pays for it, what we are fed is that this is a state matter, federal government has to weigh in not only with money but with some discipline to make our educational system work."
No Child Left Behind has left far too many children behind. We have a dire situation in America; 30% of our kids do not graduate from high school. Nearly a third of our children are condemned to a substandard economic existence.
There is good reason to question "No Child Left Behind." It is too rigid, too small a program and under funded; classic political imagery.
"Teachers want to get paid, well let them work year round like the rest of the people. We need to have super teachers, and we need competition in education. We're not getting that, and we're going to continue to see the failure. It's not just throwing money at it, because we see what happens in Washington, DC, they throw all the money it needs, and the money goes primarily to the administration and not to the education of children. We need to rethink the way we finance education..."
No Child Left Behind has left too many children behind. It needs to be reformed and adequately funded. It needs to acknowledge the need for a fuller curriculum that encourages critical thinking not just math and science test-taking.
No Child Left Behind mandates testing so "failing schools" can be identified and punished. Many politicians point to rising test scores and call that program a success. Of course scores will rise when teachers are forced to teach-to-the-test and dedicate their math and reading courses to teaching test-taking skills.
We are shaping them into good test-takers--a bunch of pleasers who lack entrepreneurial instinct and creative passion.
Unless the educational system is improved to meet the needs of today's changing society, we shall have to consider the implementation of new methods. One possibility is the voucher system soon to be tried on a limited experimental basis...The system does offer the flexibility and the element of individual choice so often lacking in our educational institutions. However, many contend it would undermine the public school system & could be used to perpetuate segregation. Nevertheless, it is an innovative concept, something found all too seldom in education, and for that reason it merits further study & serious consideration.
Citizen Power, by Sen. Mike Gravel, p.159-160 Jan 1, 1972
We should help out low-income parents who want to send their children to private schools. Why should poor children suffer from the incompetence of our political and educational leaders?
Encouraging our students to be the best they can be will require flexibility may mean charter schools to address the needs of local communities, smaller classes, enrichment programs for students at risk, and vocational options.
"After Republican debate Anderson Cooper, James Carville (CNN political analyst), and Ralph Reed (Republican strategist) discuss the debate and the Democratic candidate's position on evolution: Carville: Every Democratic candidate believes in evolution. Obviously, every Democratic candidate believes in evolution. Every Democratic candidate thinks it ought to be taught in schools."
Racism was here with us at the beginning of this country. It was here in the last century, and it's going to be with us in the 21st century.
2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University Jun 28, 2007
I proposed a federally supported supplementary salary program to reward those men and women who elect to teach in educationally deprived areas. Surely if we can pay government and military personnel as much as a 25% bonus for serving in so-called "hardship" areas, we can do as much for teachers here at home. Such a program would enable financially struggling districts to compete more favorably with their wealthier counterparts in recruiting the talent to provide the quality of instruction needed by youth.
Citizen Power, by Sen. Mike Gravel, p.166-167 Jan 1, 1972
Why should teachers with energy, excitement, and talent be paid the same as the ones who don't make an effort? What other profession in America protects the mediocre at the expense of the excellent?
When asked if any of the canidates are in support of merit based pay: I am. Stop and think: They're all talking business as usual, politics as usual. We're 46th in literacy in the world. 30% of our children do not graduate from high school. What does that mean for the future of this country? And all we get are the same old nostrums, that we need competition in education.
2007 Democratic primary debate on "This Week" Aug 19, 2007
What I believe in is love. And love implements courage. And courage permits us all to apply the virtues that are important in life. I was always struck by the fact that many people who pray are the ones who want to go to war, who want to kill fellow human beings. That disturbs me. I think what we need is more love between one human being and another human being.
2007 Democratic primary debate on "This Week"
I would like to see a voluntary program where young people would have an opportunity to render public service, the former senator from Alaska said. Whether it's in the military, whether it's the Peace Corps, whether it's the AmeriCorps, or all of the above. Every year that you serve, we'll give you four years of school free.