Do away with the Department of Education and it bureaucracy and give the money for it's budget to the states. Allow the states to control their school districts once again and break the National Educators of America Union, teachers do not need to have benefits that extend to plastic surgery and should be paying for part of their health benefits like everyone else does. Do away with teacher tenure and make teachers work to maintain their positions, once again, like everyone else has to do in their positions. Get rid of the incompetent and the lackluster teachers. Make the field of education competative again and make the teachers work to earn their paychecks!

How about we start holding parents responsible for the education and behavior of their children? We've placed the responsibility for raising children on our educators and than hamstring them when they try to enforce policy?

Lengthening the school year is unpopular with business wanting kids to work. Yet there is more to learn in a class room where more kids do not speak English. More kids have only one parent to help at night. It is harsh; in my opinion teachers are having to work harder to produce the same quality students. How to do this? Separate learning the English language from learning english, math, social studies, civics and health. Add more days. Expensive? yes. It is no easier to put six hours of learning in a five hour day than to put six pounds of stuff in a five pound sack. Push educational games for the kids to play at home on paper. Just a single sheet per subject. Not more than twenty min. Encourage programs for students at NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/education/forstudents.html), EVMS and MCV. Cub/Boy scouting activities are also aligned with Virginia SOLs, but scouting may not be for everyone. I'm against throwing more money to schools unless the money adds only to the teachers and class rooms - not sports. Kindly, Allen

Until the parents are brought back into the system of raising/training their children there will be no improvement, no matter the good intentions of government (local, state, or federal). Too often they are not involved and only blame the teachers for any failures of their children.

We need to make the education system more about the children than the teachers. As a society, we should be grateful for our educators and certainly support them, but increasing taxes would not necessarily reach teachers' pockets directly. Teachers could get better pay if 1) they did not HAVE to join a union and pay union dues 2) took on extra work (summer school, part-time jobs, small seasonal businesses, etc.) during the summer as in full time jobs in the private sector and 3) if the operating costs of school boards and administrative areas in education could be reduced. What we always forget about, too, is the fact that there are options like private schools for teachers to pursue. Hopefully, public educators are not surprised by their paychecks when they first start working. Those that choose that profession have to know what they're getting into and enter that profession for reasons other than money. If there was a shortage of educators, I'm sure local leadership would find cuts to pay better wages. Finally, parents need to take some responsibility for what their children are learning. We should not blame educators for lack of success in our children. Parents should be involved in education in AND out of school settings.

How about get government out of the school system, since they have all but ruined our education system, the moment they touched it. Our education system is taught to what the government wants the people to know or be skilled for. They also hinder students who strive to have the best education and pass the ones who could care less, there for allowing less motivated students to move up in the system. Its time to start holding the lazy ones back and help the brighter kids go forth and have a great education. Lowering the standards on everyone to pass a few people, hurts all students.

I think it would be a good idea for our elected lawmwkers and President to read the Constitution they swore or affirmed to uphold. Where in the constitution is congress granted the power to regulate state ru schools? Isn't each state guaranteed a republican form of government?

Charlie Fish, Sir I completely agree with you. Just one day as a room parent showed how different schools are today. Teachers have not say nor choice in who they teach nor what condition the child is in. While many Grandparents help with today's kids, I fear for the next generation. There is a test to drive a car. No test to be a parent. Middle school students master virtual reality games and social media before they master math or writing a paragraph. Solutions - we need solutions.

Please note that School Nurses are not mandated by the Commonwealth of VA. As a result, they are poorly paid (far less than teachers) yet are a vital element of the school system. Who checks children's vision and hearing (often for the 1st time for many underprivileged children)? Who dispenses medication to younger children while in school and away from home? Who responds when a child breaks an arm on the playground or has a seizure or any of the other things associated with the health of our children. There is not a school principal in Virginia that would assume the liability of a school full of children without a School Nurse!! Yet they are the most underrepresented Professional Employee in the school system. How about it Randy, see what you can do for School Nurses!!! It is a very worthy cause!

The school year and the school day should be longer and the class size should be no larger than 20 students. The school year was set farmimg. The time has changed. A longer school day and school would allow both teachers and students to cover more material.

As a HS educator, I would like to see more technical schools in our area. The system pushes students for the college education, ready or not. Many students have no intention to further their education at the university level. They want to continue their education in technical fields. If the counties, cities, states, and country would determine the needs of redirection for many students the students the system is attempting to push would be better served and this would help reduce class sizes as well as disciple issues which translate in negative academic results. All need to step back look at the big picture for the betterment of the child. Our job is to educate children but we need to direct them to a positive path. The success of other countries is the redirection of students.

I agree with Charlie fish but am at a loss to understand how to increase parental participation in their children's academic lives. The lack of parents' involvement in the schools stems from greater societal pressures as well as the current lack of understanding by the school system on how to better compete with leisure/entertainment activities across the entire student body. I'm certain a study has been done researching the impact of leisure and entertainment distractions from scholastic excellence but I'm unaware of the findings nor their potential implementation. Additionally, I would like to see more of a practical approach to teaching in the classrooms. With the current use of technology in the hands of our children and young adults, the competing interests must be captured by the academic community. By identifying the local or regional or national, depending on the case, practical application of academic study the school boards can more readily identify how to capture and maintain the attention of those students who may lack academic direction. This fits in with Congressman Forbes' comments about enhancing local flexibility and strengthening state and local autonomy. While I realize the pure forms of some academic subjects must be taught, perhaps we can find ways of teaching them that reflect the changes underway in our society to help capture and maintain the academic interest of those students who may not have an interest in school. Done rambling!! :)

The MAJOR problems with today's education are being strongly pushed by government at all levels. The biggest problem is the decay of families and moral values. This is fact and unless people turn to God and Biblical principles, education will continue to decline no matter what else is done. This will make some, perhaps many, angry but it does not change the fact. Our schools and society's political correctness and encouragement of immorality (not only sexual), teaching the preeminence of self, etc. are the root causes. Until the root is fixed, the plant will be increasingly rotten. Match the history of educational and moral decline. The correlation is clear. Commonsense also would tell anyone this is true.

Suspend the Political Correctness that has been blown out of proportion. Allow Teachers to administer punishment commensurate with the infraction. Stick to the curriculum that got us to where we were just after the second World War. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic prepared us for the MOON and beyond. I think we have strayed way beyond what is necessary to prepare for college. Yesterday's Flower Children ( now in charge of curriculum ) have developed an educational system whereby only the brightest do well, and I think those who do well have two parents, or a very strict single parent. Those who fall behind received little preparedness in the lower grades, and very little at home.The judicial System, coupled with angry parents have made it difficult to control unruly individuals in the classroom. Threatened with Law Suits a teacher will allow a lot of disruption before administering correction, thus taking time away from the rest of the class. More resources are not the answer. Every time I hear that more resources are required, I have ask myself why? I believe it helps the Teachers Union more that the children. We have lost the common sense factor in Academia. When a High School Graduate cannot take 10% of a Dollar we'er doomed to fail as a country. In my opinion, V/R Del Grier

Get rid of teaching to test. Eliminate the amount of extra administrative work performed by teacher to allow them more time to focus on teaching. Place more emphasis to challenging students to do better and less emphasis on the cornucopia of classes now available. Not everyone has the inclination for college so prepare those individual's to go into the blue collar work force, more technical training to meet demands. Make it easier to get rid of those who don't teach. Everyone knows who they are but they have to molest someone to get removed.

If you want to fix Education, get the Government completely out. Eliminate the Department of Education and return the money back to the States with the requirement that the local school boards receive the money to improve their school system. No where in our Constituion does it say the Government shall be in charge of Education. The State is thew Government, not the Federal Government and the States MUST enforce our 10th Amendment and take back from the Federal Government the duties that were taken away from the States. But in order to return power back to the States, we first must demand Congress to do their jobs working For The People, instead of working for the Federal Government and their poltical Parties. Failure to do so, will ensure that there will be a 2nd American Revolultion. Randy, for the most part, you do work for the People, but not recently with your votes for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Patriot Act, both which have lessen our Consitutional Rights. In fact, a Federal Judge declared part of the NDAA as unconstituional. So how does that make you feel, knowing you voted for something that was unconsitional, thereby violationg your sworn oath to uphold and protect our Consitution? Congress has allowed many Bills to be passed that have lessen our Constituional Rights and has failed to control Presidentual actions that are outside the limitaions allowed in our Constituion. When will you and other Memebrs of Congress, do your job in protecting our Constituion? And don't tell me you do. Your actions and voting record shows that you allow violations to occur or fail to take any action.

I find it quite interesting that one of the choices on the instapoll was "teacher union reform." Do I really need to point out to my Virginia congressman that teacher unions are illegal in the Commonwealth? How exactly would "teacher union reform" affect us? Our "unions" are only associations with no collective bargaining rights and no recourse for teachers who are eager to improve their working conditions, pay, pensions, etc. Maybe our leaders should know the law before making suggestions for changing them!

in 1979 the Department of Education became a cabinet level position. I graduated in 1973. At that time, the local governments were still voting and levying local school bonds for the funds needed for schools and teachers were not beholding to the rules and regulations of the FEDERAL government. It was at this time, complaining began about the U.S. decline in elementary and secondary education levels, just about 33 years ago. That correlation should have drawn someone's attention, and actually did when in 1994 Congress had attempted to abolish it in the budget process. Since then, it has been more FEDERAL Regulation hindering our educational system. The Department of Education should be relegated back to a small division of Health and Human Services Paul Langley Chesapeake, Virginia

I believe that the "no child left behind" act has weakened our schools tremendously. I personally know a recent high-schooler (eventual GED) that was expelled after 144 (one hundred forty four) office behavior referrals by the 11th grade in Hopewell, Va. That's 140 more than I had in four years of high school and 144 chances to stop other kids from active learning. In the end he left himself behind while he fully disrupted true education. Sure, kids will be unruly, but (here comes the 39 year old man speech) way back when they identified problem students and sent them to "Alternative School". We didn't have repeated disruptions. We had fear of our teachers, fear of our administrators and fear of our parents. This is not the bygone days of the fifties...I'm a graduate of 1991, Virginia college educated and military veteran. My friend's son (144 man)...he's a stay at home dad of three. His wife works; he draws welfare. No child left behind? Why are we educating our children to the lowest common denominator? My wife just bore my first daughter and I'm already wondering how I will afford private school. I don't want my daughter to have to teach herself while the teacher deals with problem children because the law says she can't send them out of class while they dance on the teacher's desk shouting obscenities (by the way, offense number 37 of 144). Please, if we have to audit the school system like we audit our banks, please truly find out what a classroom is like in 2012 and take it from there. Sincerely, Michael RH Eckstein

I have five elementary school ago children. I have made the choice to send them to a Catholic school. I am confused as to why they have better results with less funding per student. I don't believe just paying teachers a higher salary produces better outcomes, teachers need to be responsible to educate the students. I am a nurse, if I can't do what is required, I would lose my job. I also believe Virginia or my city of Suffolk should give those parents who choose a private school a tax credit, or a certain amount per child to put towards the private education.

Hold parents responsible for their children's school performance with penalties for failure that "bite".

Special education teachers should receive composition for their training and for the extreme demands required by the job. The requirements of No Child Left Behind should not be placed on special needs students or their teachers. Special education teachers are required by law to complete legal forms and often are not given sufficient time to do this work. Studies should be done to see how many special education teachers choose to leave the profession each year and why. We need dedicated special education teachers but loose them because of "burn out"and lack of support from administrations. Teachers enter special education with of a desire to help the students and their famlies but often leave discouraged and exausted. When this happens everyone looses.

Our children need to attend school for the full year the same way all the other children of the world do. I cannot believe everyone ignores this simplest of facts.

A good start in improving our nations's educational system would be to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. One should look at the money going into that Department and then also determine if the American youth are any smarter since it was established! Doesn't look like it from the reports I see. Let's also get the U.S. Government out of our schools! Just look at the failure of Washington's bureaucrats and politicians getting us $16+ Trillion in Debt with little hope these days that enough decent jobs will ever come back to America.

First, merit pay is a silly idea for teachers. I already work 60-70 hours a week; I also freely share the strategies and materials that I've come up with. Merit pay will not make me work harder; what it will accomplish is making teachers less likely to collaborate and share ideas and strategies freely. Second, I think that the gov't of whatever level should spend more time actually listening to the teachers. Third, we teach the basics. What we need more of is the arts and humanities. Research has repeatedly shown the connections between learning music and math, for example. Yet, under the punitive system of NCLB the arts and humanities are being treated as second class citizens, able to be forgotten at a moment's notice. Fourth, we need to get the truth out about what the stats really mean. John Behrman said that we were once number one in education, but now we are 17th. The reality is that we were NEVER number one on standardized tests. Moreover, the simple numbers are misleading. On the PISA, our students are competing against countries that only test a portion of their students, yet we test them all. Imagine how great our numbers would look if we only tested half to a quarter of them? Moreover, it is not an apples to apples comparison. Finland, routinely touted as number one in education, has less than 5% childhood poverty. We have over 20%. When one only counts those schools with low poverty numbers, we ARE number one. The research is more than clear; poverty is playing a huge role in the educational attainments of our students. We need better wraparound services for poor children. Finally, we need less reliance on standardized tests. Standardized tests are only meant to test a portion of the domain knowledge of a subject. Moreover, they cannot test many things, including the very important non-cognitive skills. Yet, because of the punitive measures, we are reducing our students and their education to nothing more than a bunch of bubbles to be filled in. Yet, what we should be doing is holding everyone accountable: the teachers, the schools, the students and the parents, but only for the things that they ARE accountable for.

All students learn differently. It's important to explore creative methods to see what works best . Early in Elementary School the Teacher has a chance to grab the childs attention or turn them off to learning. Teaching to test does not open the creative minds of the students or the Teachers. The success of a Teacher can be determined bottom line in the grades the student makes. Teachers should be allowed to do their job . When Teachers see that they have challenging students , they should be able to seek advise without feeling like a failure . Two heads or more can at times find better solutions . We should take Education much more serious than we do . Todays children are our Future.Thank You for Your Time.

First off, among the listed solution alternatives, I believe that Federal intrusion into local schools must be reduced; it is clear to me (a retired Virginia teacher) that teachers' pay ought to be raised [they are being over-tasked and over-managed to a faretheewell]; and school funding must be increased. We must put education back into the schools and remove it from the hands of politicians and special interests [not all are especially friends of education]. 'Nuff said.

Must get the parents involved and bring back discipline into the schools. End the attitude that we need to nurture their self esteem with feel good success. Let success be in their grades in English, math, science.

This is my twenty-eighth year teaching elementary school, and I've experienced many changes. Teachers are not seen as professionals and are rarely asked for their opinions. Higher ups that have been out of the classroom, some for years, make most curriculum decisions. Rules, regulations, and curriculum change constantly, so there is no time to master anything. Teachers need to be the driving force within a school. Just as teachers are held accountable, students and their parents should also be held accountable. We need to get back to the basics.

I live in an area of the country where the majority of people are from Mexico. I am sorry, but this is the United States -- learn to speak English! The requirements of most businesses to be bilingual should not be necessary. If you don't know English -- learn! We have many children in our schools that don't speak English and many who don't want to speak English. I have a great compassion for children with special needs but children who have severe disabilities, those with cognitive levels of three years old or less should not be sent to schools to be babysat. I am sorry, but many of these children are not capable of learning and will require full-time care their entire lives. They get nothing out of going to school but instead require care that a provider can give. Let their teachers be able to teach instead of changing diapers and hand-feeding the children. Also the amount of paperwork teachers are required to do is ridiculous. And don't even get me going on the state required mandated testing. There is so much government accountability that teachers have to teach to the test and not what they really want to teach -- the basics and fundamentals. The fact that there are so many students in middle and high school that have never learned to read or even do basic math is a sad fact of our current educational system.

Students are entering high school reading on a second grade level. How does a kid get past the third grade if he can not read. The insult to. Educators is the fact we have to have standardized testing. Standardized testing came into effect because we had students graduating from college ( especially athletes ) who could not read on a second grade level. Students are not taught critical thinking anymore. Actually they are not taught much in school anymore. Even the teachers are ignorant on western civilization.the constitution, and civics. What is wrong with education, we have vary little of it.

Motivated students are successful in school. What no one is addressing is the parent's contribution to motivation. I believe the law should include penalties for lack of parental committment for encouraging their students. It doesn't take a college education to provide a student with a quiet place to study and require time be spent in study. I believe if support such as this in not required, parents can be charged with educational negelect. There already exhists examples of courts putting parents, alternately, in jail on weekends for failing to get their students to school.

As much as I dislike the government medling in the fabric of our society... I believe in a strong united nation... two things are absolutely key to soliderity... a National Language and a strong and standardized education system for our children. To that end... the government should support grade schools to adopt one standard program for grades 1-10 ... but let the schools determine who passes/fails using the guidelines of the program. I believe in standardizing all educational grades up to and including 10th grade. We have completely lost our way in what grade school is supposed to do... and that is to generally train our children in the basic concepts of living in our society... and that's about it.. they should have knowledge of what our nation is about and how it started; a good working knowledge of general science and mathematics; the ability to communicate both orally and in writing; how to keep healthy; a basic knowledge of the nations that inhabit our planet along with how other languages differ.... above that, it's all elective. The overall goal of these ideals would be to help and encourage our children to be a part of the solution and not a part of the terrible "entitlement" state of mind we're in!! I've had a plan in mind (that I've mentioned before) that would basically put most schools in a kind of syncronized schedule and teach courses in cyclic modules allowing students that are having trouble drop back for the partial course work rather that an entire semester (so-called) or for students who are transient... may enter a school many states away and basically walk right back into classes where he left off (as the modular courses repeat themselves). What this would do (in my opinion): 1) Cause many schools (the more the merrier who join this system) to adopt the same course syllabi; use the same text books (and publishers shouldn't worry, here... they would all simply publish standard books and could still compete); tests could be standardized 2) With standard courses comes standard teacher training... in turn, teachers would be evaluated with standard guidelines 3) With standard tests comes equal national statistics and course auditing. Also when changes are made or updates... everyone makes the change at the same time. 4) If all students are learning the same thing and the pressure is off on 'fear of failure' (since the student simply repeats the part that is not understood or due to sickness or moving) ... drop outs will diminish and success in graduation will increase. What about 11th and 12th grades?? First of all... if we can't teach what is needed in 10 years... something is wrong.... Math; English; Science; Founding history; Health/PE; Basic Language haven't changed (or are slow to change) Though the subject matter or way of teaching may have changed... since 1960 ... 10 years is a lot of time to bring a student to a pre-college level!! So... in 11th and 12th grades.... students should be taking their pre-entry level college courses, such as: English Literature; Trignometry/Analytics; Pre-physics; World History; Pre-chemistry; etc .... AND NOT THESE STUPID HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS (i.e. Engineering; Architecture; Art; etc --- though... perhaps these programs could be offered at centralized locations (bussed) during the school week for those students holding a C or better average in grade levels 11 and 12. I also believe students should be allowed to graduate during the 11th year of high school if they don't plan on attending college right away ... they could (instead) take a school level vocational/technical course (partial day) and not pay tuition if the course was continued without more than a 3mth break after graduation. After 3mths and based on age... the tuition would be applied on a rising linear scale. For those leaving school early and then (later) wanting to attend college, they should be allowed to come back into small, ocassionally scheduled adult programs to take pre-college classes on an accelerated basis --- Born after Sep 1997 [kind of thing] as a pre-requisite to only allow adults who graduated under the above program to come back for free.... ONE TIME only for free... all others would have to pay the school district tuition.... this would raise new revenues!! Well... enough of this rant--- looks like I wrote a manual... there's just so much to say! In summary... all grade schools (elem; junior high; senior high) need to stop thinking of themselves as little college/university campuses ... they lose focus when they do that... stick to the basics and remember the students are still learning only basic information... advanced learning should be left to the colleges and universities.

The education system is just as screwed up as Congress is, probably because Congress has it's hands in that too. Both systems need to be over hauled dramatically because they both are sucking the life out of this nation!

I think that the Fed. gov't needs to get rid of the Dept. of Education completely. Let the states run the educaion system like they used to before Mr. Carter thought that the Fed. gov't needed to be involved and try to run the show. Each state has different criteria and different types of people and they can't all be taught the same. Since the Fed. gov't got involved the system has gone down hill.

Class size should be reduced, pay increased, better teacher training in new teaching techniques, good support from the community, better respect taught and expected. The problem is more involved than just teachers. Parents need to be drawn in. If there is no support for education at home, kids won't learn. Some kids are behind even before they get to kindergarten. Computerized individualized teaching may help in some situations, with group work as well. None of this is cheap, but if we want good education we must be willing to pay for it. Year-round education with blocks of time for vacation may be better than long summer vacations.

Hold the students accountable.Not just the the teachers.Stop giving do overs for everything. Our tests should be timed not run endlessly until the child decides to finish up after being asleep for hours. There are so many hoops to jump through and rules to follow the teachers can not teach. Students get away with murder we need discipline back in our schools. Children who want to learn have to suffer because the ones who do not want to learn are catered to while those who want to learn have to sit through classes being disrupted by a bunch of hoodlums who could care less. Many of which are sped students so they get catered to even more. If they really need help I am all for it. But many are nothing but discipline problems. Parents also need to be held accountable. Many could care less what thier child is doing in school or anywhere else as far as that goes. It is time for not only teachers but students and parents to be held responsible for their actions or lack of. Teacher and administration have to spend so much time dealing with crazy parents and students who just do not care that it causes problems for them just trying to teach. Kids are passed to the next grade and they can't even spell. We just move them along regardless of the grades they make. They need to fail if they fail not be moved along. I wonder if in other countries like Japan Finland.. ect if they can disrupt class and get away with it. We need to clean up our schools. We should not have to have metal detectors in our schools. If you want to pass a law to help our schools pass a law that says 3 strikes and you are gone.

Two points that aren't directly addressed here. First, just less than half of college freshmen ever graduate. That's a lot of tuition checks feeding the university money machine. The second point is that almost all schools now are college prep. This has not only led to a glut of students going to college creating both a "higher education bubble" but also that student loan crisis, but also a dearth of skilled labor. It isn't really being talked about but US businesses are having trouble finding skilled labor like electritions, welders, machinists, etc. Schools used to teach these skilled. Since 56% of graduates don't go to college and 23% of those who do don't graduate, there's a lot of room for technical training. The government schools definitely need reform. Not only are they not turning out skilled labor, even those who do manage to go to college aren't really fit, as seen in the vast number of remedial courses in the typical course catalogs. Decades of this has gotten us here and we need to start on the decades long road to get us out of the hole.

I think parents need to take a greater resposibility for their childerns' learning . teachers cannot teach kids who haven't learned how to learn . It is not the teachers' fault that kids don't pay attention or value the education they are given. It is at home that these values NEED to be taught.

This question of the week is very disappointing congressman Forbes. It highlights yet another astonishing disconnect with the citizens of your district. There is no mention whatsoever of the Common Core State Standards Initiative that has now been adopted by 45 states with Virginia completely directionless with educational vision. There is universal view that the Bush era Leave No Child Behind that left every child behind was an abysmal failure. Why are you not informed about the innovative Common Core Initiative Mr. Forbes and why are you not sharing this exciting program with your constituents? The American people are disgusted with the performance of this congress. How could you people go home for summer recess in the middle of historic drought without acting on the Farm Bill. How can you return to Washington for a week and do nothing at all on the fiscal cliff issues? How can you face the voters by recessing yet again with no action on either of these matters and doing so at the earliest date in 50 years? What confidence do you think the voters have that if you are reelected you will return to congress and do what you failed to accomplish in the last two years? Let me outline a few CORE concerns of the voters here for you sir. We are concerned that you voted to shove this great nation into default and thus acting to seriously harm the private sector. We are concerned that you have opposed reforms of the financial industry supported by the Federal Reserve. We are concerned that during your tenure in the congress, when you were sent to Washington with a balanced budget, that you supported policy that has added 10 TRILLION dollars to the debt. We are concerned that you refused to support middle class tax relief but continue to support tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires that did not create jobs. We are concerned that you have repeatedly misled the voters with respect to the impact of regulations on business where the CBO essentially disputes your claims. We are concerned that you did nothing to pressure your leadership to vote on the Jobs bill sent to you over a year ago, a bill that was completely paid for and according to the CBO would create 1 million jobs. We are concerned that as a member of the judiciary committee you have been voiceless on the issue of troublesome voter ID laws that have been struck down by the courts in many states. We are concerned that you supported war policy with no plans whatsoever to pay for it. We are concerned that you voted to hold the Attorney General in contempt of congress over a tragic policy that was started under the Bush administration when it is clear that Mr. Holder had not been briefed on the policy and once he had become knowledgable he acted to stop it. We are concerned that you misled the public on the Keystone pipeline where the republican legislators of Nebraska voted unamimously they did not want routed through vital acquifer lands. We are concerned that you opposed financial industry bailouts that have yielded billions in profits for the taxpayers that kept our economy from total collapse, an economy I might add that utterly fell apart under the pressure of policy you helped to implement. We are concerned by your support for repeal of historic health care legislation that contains 200 billion in cost containment measures the insurance industry and hospitals support, while making it possible to insure millions of Americans out of the market now. Congressman Forbes, please, at this juncture before you act on education report to the voters in some detail on the exciting news regarding the Common Core Initiative. I don't know why sir you are seeking feedback on education when you have already voted for the Ryan budget that strips billions in resources for American children.

Encourage CharacterFirst! in each school; allow prayer and Bible study again; get rid of completely the Dept. of Education and return the power of education back to the states and localities; give parents freedom to send their kids to any public school in the district they wish, and a path to send them to a neighboring district if that district does a better job--put market forces to work and open competition to allow the best to be rewarded. The detritus will sink. Set the teachers and students up to be successful by pairing learning style to teaching style.... There are innumerable great ideas, but the current bureaucracy stifles and in mny cases kills them. Free parents and teachers, reduce the administrators, and remove federal interference.

If we could only capture the power of the free enterprise system in our school system, the improvements would be astounding. When priavte enterprises are in competition, the goal is to outperform their competition. Our public schools have the goal of pushing numbers (percentages) through the system, like cattle to the slaughter house. When teachers become complicit with the students in cheating on tests, then this should be a red flag for leadership to make a change. Since public sector unions can extort tax payer money from poiliticians (who may only be modestly concerned with our tax dollars), it is clear that this must change. The eductaion system must be fundamentally changed and we need to elect officials that will be determined stewards of our tax dollars.

Allow teachers to teach! I have spoken to many teachers who feel they spend so much time preparing kids to pass these ridiculous standardized tests that they lose valuable time that could be spent just teaching. Teachers spend 4+ years in college learning how to develop curriculum, among many other things, and they get in the classroom unable to use any, or very little, of it! Despite what so many government officials want to think, children are not all cut from the same mold and they do not all learn the same way. We definitely need more options!

Mr. Forbes, Certainly we need to assure a high standard in curriculm and teachers but to have national standards limits local greatness in results. My children were taught in a Christian Private School and without exception, the children coming out at every level were at least 1 and in most instances 2 grades ahead of the "standard". To me the best way to assure student accomplishment is to have high level of attention for EACH student through smaller classrooms, assistants in the rooms AND involvement of the parents. Creative ways to get the parents involved in the performance of their child is critical. We're not talking about abusive pressure but creative encouragement and trained ways to "help" the child succeed. Celebrate achievement in the child. My wife was a teacher in the Christian School and she had a child with a learning disability. With this environment he excelled and was actually ahead of his fellow students when he transfered to the public school in high school. There is NO standard approach that will work. Great teachers with the right assitants and active parents work. We had LESS money than any of the public schools but our students far exceeded the public school.

Teaches should be qualified to teach but not held totally accountable for a childs educational outcome...when did the shift and total burden for the childs education end up on the teacher's back. A huge part of the problem is who ever is raising the children and how they view education and its importance. Until those people are on board all of the testing, new schools, and reviews will not matter.

I am a teacher in the public school system. I firmly believe that the SOL and NCLB implementation has significantly hurt our education system. These set the MINIMUM standards for achievement and have become the criteria for developing the curriculum. The focus needs to be on teaching the content. If that is done, the SOLs and requirements for NCLB will take care of themselves. I also feel that changing the grading scale to a 10-point scale, as most divisions are doing now, makes getting a good grade easier and waters down the final product. We need to toughen up the scale to make the students have to work harder for the grade. Then an "A" will be meaningful. Finally, it is a major shame when teachers, fire fighters, law enforcement, and our military often have to get 2nd and 3rd jobs to pay their bills and when athletes and entertainers make millions of dollars per year. The tax code needs to be simplified to one 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper with a flat tax. More of the tax money needs to be used for the groups above.

Virginia must consider SOL scores as a primary indicator of school success. Standardized tests are a simple and effective way to evaluate schools. People too often confuse SOL testing with aptitude testing and argue against SOL testing because they think SOL testing is overemphasized and their child's true potential is unfairly rated. They don't understand that emphasis on standardized testing serves to identify students who need additional attention to score well for college entrance, and can also improve student results on aptitude tests. Please educate the public; don’t confuse SOL with aptitude testing.

Here's a sad story: My 11th grade daughter got a 72 on an Algebra II test and was excited because that is now considered a C- !!! Are you kidding me?! That is a low D in reality. We need to stop "dumbing down" the public school system to accomodate the kids who either don't care or their parents don't care enough to make sure they have the even simplest scholastic skills. Here's an idea, let's see what Japan is doing and do that. A 72 is not a C- in Japan I'm sure. We're losing the fight people. Our kids are being crippled for life by our new low standard! Our kids can't spell, add, or even speak properly and I myself am scared to death about the condition this country will be in when I'm old and the're running it. I know there are some awesome kids out there who have goals and standards, but they are the minority and that's the reality.

i feel teachers need to go back to teaching the material and stop just teaching the SOL. All they teach is the SOL.

To KELLY JOHNSON Thank you very much for pointing out this incredible suggestion about teacher unions. I think this dramatically exposes how disconnected Congressman Forbes is in the entire range of issues affecting the country. In the last year from the bizarre COsponsor support of HR 3 that attempted to redefine rape to the interference at the university level challenging the NON discrimination policy, Mr. Forbes has not been delivering for the district in a very long time and the voting record is very extreme. Each week the poll questions bring a barage of complaints from the voters. We cannot even get a town hall meeting in his home town in years. It's clear what is going on here. You cannot represent America and commit to the Grover Norquist extremist blackmail pledge that created obstruction, surrendered all claims to patriotic courage and service requiring action and that has caused serious harm to families, business, and government at all levels. But to bring up teacher unions here, THAT says it all...Disconnect, Obstruction, Destruction.

As far as improving the schooling, standardized testing only works if it is kept secret until the test is administered. I grew up in an area in which this policy was followed and it worked well. Dedicated teachers are necessary but how to motivate is a problem. It certainly doesn't start with a system that rewards or encourages poor performance. Once a teacher reaches a point where it becomes vertually impossible to remove that teacher the motivation to do a good job goes right out the window. Screen the candidates for teaching positions carefully and once they are in support them with adiquate funding to do their jobs, not expect them to shell out money from their pockets for supplies that should be provided. Class size is less important than we are led to believe. Growing up our class size varied around 30-35 . The ability to maintain control was important, dicipline needs to be reintroduced, trying to be "friends" doesn't always work. The student has to know who is in charge. Many want to blame and point fingers instead of fixing the problem. Not all teachers should be teachers just as some should not be parents but that is another story. There was a time when the roles of all three groups were well defined but that definition has been lost. Greed got in the way. After reading the comments many advocate removing government from the teaching arena . Its a start but does anyone remember what happened to the air trafic controllers several years ago when they went on strike. Anyone drawing their salary from public monies should be subject to the same rules and penalties. Too often the students are used as pawns in the cry for "higher wages"

Hold each student responsible for their own and when they need help the teacher can give it to them and hold the parents responisible. We have thrown money like water over a dam and the problem only gets worse fire the bad teachers and give the teachers that do well merit pay.

students and parents alike must be held more accountable for their attitude, preformance, and behavior in schools. too many believe that we owe them a free education and that work is optional. disruptive students should be removed from the classroom so that those interessted in an education can work without interference or intimidation.

Merit pay for superior performance seems a good solution. The other side of the coin, get rid of dead weight teachers. Merit pay would send a strong message...teach your students well or find another line of work.

I suggest a massive tutoring/mentoring program. I have spent a lot of time in elementary schools as a mentor. I have found that when a student does not get the help at the moment it is needed that student falls behind. I have personally experience a 4th grade male student who was a very bad disciplinary problem do a 180 degree reversal when I assisted him in figuring out a problem during a test. My suggestion would not cost anything. Just additional chairs (which all schools should already have) are needed in the classrooms to accommodate a ratio of one tutor/mentor to no more than 3 students. I use "mentor" because no special training is needed. A tutor/mentor will only need to spend a half of a school day, once a month in the classroom. I am sure most employers will cooperate for the benefit of all. I know that every responsible adult in this country can spend 3 hours once a month in an elementary school class to assist in fixing the education problem. This may seem overly simplistic, but it will work. Once a young person "gets it" the light will remain on for a lifetime. Thank you.

From reading other comments posted here, it appears that most of us agree that education needs to be taken out of the hands the federal government. Return authority in the classroom to the teacher. Hold the student and parents accountable for the success or failure in the classroom. The best teacher in the world cannot educate an unmotivated student. We need to return to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. I don't agree with eliminating standardized testing. We have to have a way to assess basic achievement levels across the nation. We should revert to the old "achievement" tests, not the SOLs. The only thing the SOL test reflects is whether the student cared enough to learn the answers to the test that the teacher has given them. Students are being spoon-fed, are not being held accountable for the work, and continually being pushed through the system. By the time they get to college (my husband has been teaching math at a public university for 12 yrs) they lack basic math skills, don't know what a syllabus is (if they went to public school)' and cannot or refuse to follow directions. Students are allowed to repeat the same course 3 times to attempt a passing grade. I definitely agree that the need for vocational technical schools has returned. Not everyone wants or needs to go to college. Globally most students are tested at the end of their 10th year to determine if they may continue to university level academics. Others are offered the opportunity to pursue "a trade". Let's return courses like home economics and wood, metal, and auto shop to our secondary educational system. Most of all, parents need to be parents again. Take back the authority within your family. Be willing to be the "bad guy" again, make the hard decisions and "just say no". Let your child know that when they are at school, the teacher has authority over them, and their will be consequences for insubordination.

Interesting dialogue here this week. It isn't the first time, but whenever this subject comes up it the educators themselves that always make the most compelling argument of what is needed. Ideas such as shutting down the government are so shallow. Some voters here obviously do not know about the Common Core Initiative, and why would they when Virginia is completely out in the wilderness on this. Congressman Forbes, please report to the voters here on what this is and your perspective on why Virginia has not adopted something 45 other states have and clearly matters aligning exactly with the sentiments of many on this weeks blog and the educators themselves. The disconnect week after week congressman is mind numbing.

The size of classes have a lot to do with how pupil's learn and also teachers must give there all in pushing education. Classes must be interesting to hold a pupil's interest and maybe conventional ways of teaching needs to be changed. Also parents must take time to insure their kids are understanding the lessons and completing there work. Parents must become more involved and understand that education schools and centers are not day care centers. The key is to make parents become more involved and push education. Have a blessed day.

Teachers need to earn their paychecks. Superior performance and its subsequent pay/recognition brings the best out in everyone. Get rid of standardized testing. Hold the parents of poor performing students accountable. Stop delaying the educating of good students because their poor performing peers can't make the grade. Set them back until they succeed. You will be doing them a favor over the long haul. Do not throw money at this problem...it hasn't helped so far. Eliminate the NEA and AFT!!!

Discipline in my local school system is sadly lacking. I believe basic golden rule teaching needs to come back. Children that do not speak or understand any english are also just enroled in a regular classroom. Teachers are not allowed to hug or teach any Christian beliefs.

I believe that discipline is a critical element to excellence in anything we do. My experience with public schools is that there is very little discipline in the students and learning is constantly disrupted not to mention the other policy issues that others have tackled here. My suggestion is to have a school uniform policy. I can almost guarantee 50% of the discipline problems in public schools will be eliminated. I know this because I went to school in a foreign country where all students wear school uniform.

How about a couple of novel ideas: Nationalized testing: We are the ONLY industrialized nation without national standards... Seems Oxymoronic that the Federal Department of Education spends billions but can not develop standards for students, teachers and administrators... Any wonder why we are in the high 20's in Math and Science? Audit of the books: Audit the books of the Department and find out exactly where the money is going... My bet is that we have increased the number of people working for the Department of Education but nobody knows if there is a "Value Added" to the children or the taxpayer... Accountability: If there is no student doing well at a school, then how or why do they deserve federal, state or local funding? Education is the only product or service in this country where we measure success (According to the NEA and other organizations) from the total amount we spend per child. Accountability in funding: 95% of all federal funding needs to go to the classroom... Not the 60%... Where is the rest of the money going? Why did we buy Smart Boards and other technology for classrooms before managing teacher challenges and student achievement gaps

I would simply like to point out to the uninformed that Virginia is a Right-To-Work state, which means there is no teachers' union...it is a professional association that does NOT have collective bargaining rights. Likewise, there is no tenure in Virginia. Teachers, after a set number of successful years in a district are placed on "continuing contract" which does NOT preclude them from being fired for cause or being laid off for lack of funding or decreasing student population.