House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

A recent survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation finds that a whopping 42% of college-educated 24- to 60-year-olds would consider teaching as a career.  As the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) highlights in a recent article, this is great news!  There has been much chatter among school administrators about the staffing challenges schools will face in the coming years due to "retirements, teacher turnover, and enrollement growth."  CSM also points out that while there are many alternative pathways in teaching, 32 states still require people to have a degree in the subject they want to teach.

A bill introduced last year by Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) would alleviate that problem and help school officials tap into the pool of folks eager to teach their trade.  H.R.3242, the Strengthening America's Innovation and Competitiveness Act, is a measure that would allow school districts to recruit content specialists from among mid-career professionals with expertise in math, science, and critical foreign languages.  To learn more about the initiative, please click here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.3242:.

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Given all the rhetoric these days on the "middle class squeeze," this recent article in the Washington Post, The Real Economic Scorecard, offers an interesting counterpoint when analyzing the economic report card.  Robert J. Samuelson makes the case that the rising cost of health coverage and our nation's unchecked immigration problem - essentially growing the number of residents below poverty level - are the root of our nation's economic problems.  Take a moment to read this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202437.html

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