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The New School Year As Summer's heat soon gives way to cooler early mornings across Missouri, families are getting ready for the coming school year. Almost lost behind the mad dash for school supplies and new school clothes is the question many parents ask themselves: are my children getting the best possible education? That is an important question because we all know that a love for learning is the best gift we can give our children. A strong education unlocks a lifetime of opportunity. We know from experience that one of the best ways to improve the education of our children is for parents to be involved. That is because so much of what our children learn comes directly from the example set by their parents. For example, we know that children of parents who love to read often adopt similar reading habits. Children also learn the importance of education when their parents get involved in homework and volunteer at school. We also know that learning does not begin simply when a child enters pre-school. Study after study has shown that some of a child's most important lessons are learned from birth to three years of age � before formal education begins. That is why I have devoted so much of my work over the years to expand the Parents As Teachers program. It is aimed at getting parents involved in the education of their children during the critical development period from birth to age 5. This year, I offered legislation that would make more federal money available to be used for the Parents as Teachers program and other programs aimed at giving a better start for children during the first years of life. I am proud of my 92 Senate colleagues who voted for my amendment. I know it will help parents across the country become their children's first � and best � teachers. More American families will now get the chance to learn from what works so well in Missouri. Already participating in Missouri are more than 500 school districts, 150,000 Missouri families and 200,000 children. That is a long way from 1984, when as Governor, I succeeded in taking the program statewide for the first time. My amendment is one way Washington can help improve the education of our young children. While Washington examines other ways to help, it should tread lightly. Many times, the best ideas are found and practiced at the local and state level. Washington does not always have the right solutions. For example, the federal government has spent $120 billion since 1965 to close the learning gap between poor and rich students. What has the result been? Despite all this money, test scores for low-income kids have actually declined. Their drop-out rates have increased while their graduation rates have fallen. Taxpayers who sent Washington that $120 billion have a right to ask "why do we keep spending so much money on a program that fails to show positive results?" Unfortunately, many in Washington measure performance only by looking at how much money is spent. Like many people outside of Washington, I believe it is better to measure the success of a program on the results it produces. Does this mean the federal government should no longer contribute money to local education? Of course not. But I think that we owe it to taxpayers to tie our support for a program to its ability to produce good results. That is the common-sense kind of approach I will continue to bring to Washington. Parents who love their children care about results, not about federal funding formulas. Parents do not need to see a pie-chart on C-SPAN to see know whether their children are learning in school. The bulk of the responsibility for the education of our children lies first and foremost with parents. After all, that is what being a parent is all about -- teaching children about how to realize their full potential inside and outside of the classroom. We owe our children the very best because they are the stars we shoot far ahead into the days we will never see. |
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