Education

This issue is at the heart of the current controversy over “Common Core”.  Should the federal government dictate common standards for public education across the nation?  Although the concept has been voluntarily accepted by many states, including Oklahoma, the process exemplifies the practice of the federal government taking over rights and responsibilities through the lure of federal funds.  A condition of eligibility for federal grants was acceptance of one of several promised sets of standards, but then only the “Common Core” standard was approved by the federal Department of Education.  The initiative, once ostensibly initiated by the states, has now become a federally incentivized centralization of control of education.

 

National standards, accompanied by extensive testing, are antithetical to local efforts to improve education with reforms designed by those closest to the students in any given circumstance.  Teachers are forced to “teach to the test” rather than using their professional skills to tailor education to the learning styles and needs of their students.  Parents are further removed from decisions about what their children are taught.

 

My position on education is driven by my strong feelings on the constitutionality of federal involvement in education, and I will support policies and legislation in Congress that return these decisions to state and local governments.   These goals can only truly be achieved however, if states reclaim control of education by preventing the imposition of national standards and tests.