Pennsylvania Representative: "No Child Left Behind" Sets High Goals Worth Reaching
by Jim Brown
January 30, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Pennsylvania congressman is defending President Bush's signature education law against critics from the left.The president's No Child Left Behind Act expands testing and toughens standards for teachers, schools, and students. However, many school superintendents fear those requirements. Teachers unions and Democratic presidential hopefuls have been assailing the initiative, arguing it is too strict and under-funded.
Pennsylvania Representative John Peterson, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds education, says contrary to the claims of critics, the education initiative is not under-funded. "We've increased education funding a ton," he says. "We have increased it immensely in the last six or eight years."
Peterson says he believes the federal government should not control education, and in fact, education appropriations claim only about eight percent of the funding stream. However, the congressman notes that not all of the money appropriated finds its intended mark.
"Most of my schools only get two or three percent of their money from the federal government," Peterson says, "so there's a tremendous absorption in the bureaucracy at the federal level." And another problem, the Pennsylvania legislator says, is that many schools are unable to receive Title I money because rural families are hesitant to sign their children up for free or reduced-price lunches.
But while he admits the law may need some changes, Peterson admires the high goals and strong accountability of the No Child Left Behind program. Although some goals may not be obtainable in schools that have a lot of special-needs students, he strongly believes it is a mistake to lower standards.
The congressman says he believes President Bush "sees the vision" and recognizes the importance of setting a high standard for the initiative. And although critics and nay-sayers may fear such a standard, Peterson asserts, "If we don't try to achieve it we certainly won't."
Like Bush, the representative believes that education programs must be designed in such a way as to have a real impact on education in America. "We need to raise the level as high as we can get it. If you're not going to start out with the bar high, you're not going to change much," Peterson says.
