Hillary and Education

( An interesting fact-file compiled from various internet reports)

"I believe talent is distributed equally, but not opportunity," 
"It is important for all of us to try and narrow that gap between talent and opportunity. Every child deserves to achieve his/her potential."
---- Hillary Clinton ….in a recent meet about Education…with students and NGOs in India…

Hillary has often said  that she favors teacher testing.
“I’m for teacher competency examinations for teachers whether they’re new teachers, but more importantly teachers that have been in the system for some time. I don’t understand why you would not want to have examinations for teachers that were already in the system that are perhaps failing our children.”

Parent as the ‘first’ teacher…..
“The early years of development are critical to successful learning later on. A parent is a child’s first teacher. If family members would read to their children just 20 or 30 minutes a day, it would literally revolutionize American education. And stand with me in pushing for universal access to quality, affordable preschool programs for every child. And that includes Head Start, home visitations, high quality child care, early Head Start-whatever it takes to be well-prepared for school.”
Hillary on the importance of Art Education…
“Art education is needed in our schools. The University of California at Irvine’s ground-breaking research demonstrates that instruction in the arts, and particularly instrumental music, enables a child to enhance their reasoning, their spatial understanding, and their analytical abilities. This is why supporting arts education is not only the right thing to do, but it is the smart thing for our nation.”

Hillary on After School programs…
“One of the best ways to combat juvenile crime is to give kids something positive to do after school. Let’s follow Houston, where children play golf and soccer after school. Their mentors are coaches and teachers, not gang leaders. We also have a responsibility to protect our children at home. Guns are the fourth leading cause of accidental deaths among children. Almost half of American households have guns, but often, instead of being locked up, they are merely hidden or left in a drawer.”

Her views on promoting non-deserving students …
“We really do cheat our children if we continue to promote them to the next grade if they don’t have the necessary skills and knowledge to do the work required. We do them a terrible disservice if we set the bar of achievement higher and then we don’t provide the help and resources needed to enable them to catch up. We’ve got to do more to give every child the chance to reach the pride of accomplishment.”