Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Early in my career I taught middle school. It's one of the reasons I have so much respect for those teachers who change kids lives for the better. I didn't do it for very long. It was not easy work, but it was rewarding to see kids blossom over the course of the year. That's why I am so committed to empower teachers so they can use all their creativity and channel their passion to help each and every unique child learn and grow.

I know for my own experience that teachers cannot flourish when their work is controlled by a top-down education bureaucracy from Washington that does not know Illinois or know each child in the classroom. Only the teacher and the child's parents know. Top down, Washington control is the wrong approach. I will work to put the teachers and parents in control of the classroom, not Washington, not bureaucrats and not the unions. After all, the children should come first. It's time for a change.

Sen. Durbin puts the education bureaucracy and the union bosses first. He puts talented teachers and the children last. I'll change that -- I will move the children, their parents and the teachers to the front of the line, not push them to the back of the line like Sen. Durbin has done. It's time for a change.

Some teachers are amazing and change kids lives for the better. Other teachers struggle and need to move on to other careers. People like me. For example, I taught for a while but then decided it wasn't the right choice for me. I realized early on I'd rather sell ice cream to kids instead of math and science -- it worked out pretty well for both the kids and me.

What we cannot have is teachers who fail the children and then are protected by a unionized system that makes it all but impossible to remove teachers who should be in another career. These are surely good people, but we have to protect the children and the best way to do that is by empowering both parents and teachers through expanded school choice. Sen. Durbin votes to limit choices, especially for the poorest among us just as he did in Washington, DC. He voted to take away the opportunity scholarships for some of Washington's most vulnerable children. That is just unfair and immoral. It's time for a change.

We need to de-emphasize federal control over education and encourage school choice options that empower students and parents to find high-performing schools. School choice also sets teachers free to choose the best teaching environment for them. What is so sad is that our current Senator favors trapping poor students in failing schools. He proved this by his vote against opportunity scholarships in Washington D.C. Who would vote to curtail opportunity for poor, minority students? Sen. Durbin did. It is shameful. It's time for a change.

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