Friday, 3 March 2006
Ex-NC Governor Supports Making Education National Priority
« Competition and Innovation | Main | Governor Schwarzenegger Has Until Friday to Get Bond Plan on June 6th Ballot »At a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee’s Education Subcommittee, former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt made a passionate plea for more resources for math and science education. Hunt, a four-term Democratic governor, endorsed the Bush Administration’s American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI).
He stated that American’s can – and must – compete in today’s global economy but it will take strong leadership and a bold new emphasis on education. He went further to say that most would say that schools are a local and state issue, but if we are to do what we need to do, then education has to be a national issue – one that is every bit as important as the war on terror.
He stated that the National Academies should be charged with to develop standards and assessments for math and science education and that the states should be encouraged to implement these standards.
I may be a bit biased since I worked on campaigns for Governor Hunt many years ago, but I believe this is the type of leadership we need on this issue. I was also pleased to see that when Governor Hunt spoke (he was third on the witness list), most of the Subcommittee members were in the room, coming in as he began and leaving as he finished – something of a show of respect.
Full text of Governor Hunt’s statement can be found at the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee website: http://help.senate.gov/