Monday, August 24, 2015

Graves: Teachers, parents, not Washington bureaucrats, should make education decisions

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

A new school year is in full swing across the Midwest. I know it all too well, as my youngest daughter just started her freshman year at Mizzou. Her first day of kindergarten still doesn't seem that long ago.

As students and teachers return to the classroom this fall, the House and Senate will be working jointly to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act.

I have always believed that teachers and parents are better positioned to make decisions for their schools than bureaucrats in Washington.

Education should not be an issue that divides Republicans and Democrats - everyone wants our children to go to good schools, have success in the classroom, and lead productive lives. But the simple fact is that the Education Department, working from hundreds or thousands of miles away, just cannot know what is best for every community in America.

Thomas Jefferson once said "That government is best which governs the least.” There is nowhere his words ring truer than in our schools.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One thing that is clear, is that there is no verifiable evidence that Thomas Jefferson ever said or wrote the sentiment.

Correcting the record would surely square with Jefferson, who once said, "If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."

OK, he didn’t say that, either.

http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2014/sep/03/jody-hice/so-says-thomas-jefferson-you-might-reconsider/

we create our own reality said...

Why go to the trouble to make up a quote unless it supports your argument?!

So on the "mission accmlpished" scale (1 to 10)- this rates an 8.5!