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Mike Huckabee on Education
This candidate has withdrawn from the election
Increased education funding in Arkansas quite a bit -- in part because the state supreme court mandated it.
I don't want the federal government to have a greater roll in mandating to the states or even funding... the point of the presidency is you lift the standards up but you want it to be implemented by the states... if you are going to reform something it is going to be done at the state level.
"There are at least 5 elements essential to improving schools: 1.Mark the standards--with challenging goals 2. Measure the progress--like with No Child Left Behind. 3. Meet the expectations--there must be accountability. 4. Mobilize the community 5. Move the potential"
From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 43-45 Jan 4, 2007
"The Federal No Child Left Behind Act is often misunderstood and unfairly maligned as a total federal intrusion. As long as the states are allowed to develop their own bench mark exams to determine the manner in which they create standards and are aware of the consequences for failure to adhere to them, there is a value in having a national effort to at lest set high standards."
We need a clear distinction between federal and state roles in education. While there is value in the "No Child Left Behind" law's effort to set high standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks.
Huckabee supports: - Raise teacher salaries; - hire more teachers. - Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers & increasing teacher salaries.
2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2002
"First priority: Raise teacher salaries. Our basic constitutional responsibility is to provide for free, equitable and adequate public education for students through the 12th grade. I would recommend that we set for ourselves the task of raising teacher salaries in this state by $3,000, recognizing that's not enough and it's not the finish line but it's a good starting point. If we don't raise those salaries at least by that kind of money, we are going to be further and further behind."
State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001
"I believe that we ought to pay people for the professional development it takes not only to get there, but what a lot of people fail to understand is the extraordinary professional development and ongoing education it takes to stay there, and teachers ought to be compensated for those areas in both salary and benefit... there ought to be a new level of elevating the professional level of teaching."
"There are at least 5 elements essential to improving schools: 1.Mark the standards--with challenging goals 2. Measure the progress--like with No Child Left Behind. 3. Meet the expectations--there must be accountability. 4. Mobilize the community 5. Move the potential"
From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 43-45 Jan 4, 2007
The success of our schools has to be judged by the results we obtain, not the revenues we spend. A focus on true quality rather than mere quantity requires us to set high standards for our students and teachers, measure their performance diligently, and hold educators and administrators accountable for the results in an atmosphere of transparency and efficiency.
Governor Mike Huckabee, on a recent radio program in Arkansas, said he does not support the idea of a school voucher system that would allow parents to use state-funded vouchers to pay tuition at private, faith-based schools. "If the state were to give you a voucher, then in essence the state would be funding a faith school and would have some control over that faith school," the governor told a caller from Conway. "That's problematic for me as a person of faith."
In what may signal a setback to the coalition promoting school vouchers and other forms of government aid to private and parochial school parents[Mike Huckabee], a surging candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has warned that such programs may undermine public education.
Opposes school vouchers.
As governor, we laid the foundation for] the authorization and advancement of charter schools. I have long advocated that charter schools are wonderful laboratories for educational reform. Critics often complain that many charter schools fail, but that is precisely the point of a charter school and its difference from a traditional one. In a charter school, if it doesn't succeed in meeting its agreed-upon goals, we simply close it. Traditional public schools have failed for generations to adequately educate students, but they keep getting funded year after year. Charter schools can bring innovative ideas to the marketplace with little long-term financial risk.
From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 45-46 Jan 4, 2007
Supported creation of Arkansas charter schools. Signed into law legislation vastly improving an existing charter school law, resulting in the creation of Arkansas' first ever charter schools
PAC website, HopeForAmericaPac.org, "About" Dec 1, 2006
I have been a strong, consistent supporter of the rights of parents to home school their children, of creating more charter schools, and of public school choice.
Huckabee said he has no problem with teaching evolution as a theory in the public schools and he doesn't expect schools to teach creationism. "We shouldn't indoctrinate kids in school," he said. "I wouldn't want them teaching creationism as if it's the only thing that they should teach."
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. To me it's pretty simple, a person either believes that God created this process or believes that it was an accident and that it just happened all on its own. I believe there is a God who was active in the creation process.
2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007
When asked in republican debate if anybody on the stage does not agree, believe in evolution: TANCREDO, HUCKABEE, and BROWNBACK raised their hands, indicating that they do not believe in evolution.
2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
"Q: Should race, ethnicity, or gender be taken into account in state agencies' decisions on College and university admissions? A: No."
2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2002
We should provide bonuses and forgive student loans for high-performing teachers to work in low-performing schools. Just as there are executives in the corporate world who specialize in turning around failing companies, we need teachers who are "turn-around specialists" for failing schools.
Educators and teachers should be involved in the design of compensation initiatives that incetivize training and promote performance based on merit, so that our children can have the best education in the world.
Indicate your principles regarding education: - Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2002
Huckabee said he would be skeptical of merit pay for teachers unless there were a more thorough way to measure student progress than standardized tests.
How did we move in one generation from a society with a shared, confident sense of right to a society of relativism and moral decay? The first step to answering that question is to admit there isn't just one answer. I've heard that it all started when we took prayer out of schools. That's a simplistic answer. It wasn't just prayer in schools; it wasn't just TV, it wasn't just Watergate; it wasn't just welfare.
Character Makes a Difference, by Mike Huckabee, p.107-109 Jun 1, 2007
Huckabee has said that if a family prays together outside of school, it doesn't need to worry about whether children are allowed to pray in school.
In response to questions about why he sent his children to public schools rather than religious private schools, he said that he felt it was not the schools' job to teach his children how to pray.
The former Arkansas Governor wants to maintain Americans' strong service ethic. After Hurricane Katrina hit, he says, "one of my proudest moments came in seeing the huge outpouring of love and compassion from citizens of my state."
Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee met with Public Service Academy Co-Founder Chris Myers Asch in Iowa in August. "This is a great idea!" Gov. Huckabee exclaimed. "I wish I'd thought of it." The Academy is dedicated to creating a corps of passionate and patriotic civilian leaders willing to devote themselves to the pursuit of academic excellence, civic engagement, and leadership through public service. [This is a voluntary public service program.]