Roy Terwilliger Rebuttal 1
Question 1: Many alternatives to the existing education
system have been proposed; including charter schools, vouchers and private
sector involvement. Do you favor any of these approaches, or do you
have specific proposals to strengthen the current system?
It seems that each the candidates is in agreement that we need to
direct resources toward the very young, and I share that commitment.
My hope is that we will work together to ensure that those resources
are directed broadly and fairly so that no child is overlooked. When
it comes to the knee-jerk opposition to graduation standards I have to
take issue. Though I am unconvinced that the standards that are
emerging are necessarily the best we can do, I do believe that it is
important for the state to establish certain requirements that track
our children's progress.
Tracking progress is critical to our ability to measure what our
children are learning ... that our children are learning! Education
is a life-long process that should prepare each student for the
opportunities that lie ahead. We need to clearly focus attention and
resources at all grade and age levels, especially for our youngest
children. However, we are not doing our job if we are not developing
and supporting programs that give students of all ages the skills and
knowledge they need to get the jobs of the 21st Century. For me, that
means integrating private sector resources and brain power. Again,
the state needs to be the conduit that brings business, educators and
students together.
We should not allow the adoption of a curriculum so narrow that
students are being developed for just one job ... but we must also
recognize that not everyone is destined for college, but that every
one of them is destined for success, if we prepare them properly.
Life long learning opportunities must include technological
instruction and preparedness, as well as retraining for members of the
work force who find themselves passed by because of emerging
technologies.
