Issues

Education

En Español

Building a World-Class Education System

I am proud to have the endorsement of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and Lake County Federation of Teachers.

For our nation to ensure its long-term prosperity and security, we must provide world-class schools.  Education is the engine that will drive the breakthrough technological advancements in energy, in health care, and in tackling virtually every challenge we face today and in the future.  Our children must be afforded every opportunity to succeed and reach their potential, regardless of where they live.

Success must start with supporting our teachers who nurture curiosity, instill critical thinking and foster creativity. Rather than blaming our nation’s problems on teachers and stripping their rights to lobby, we should be empowering them with the best tools available. We should be training teachers in their fields—especially emerging science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, as well as history and the arts. With teachers who are fully qualified and fairly compensated, we can create the outstanding workforce we expect, need and deserve.

In Congress, I worked to help graduate more students who are prepared for success in a 21st Century world.  We must work diligently to ensure students who graduate from high school have the skills and tools to succeed throughout life, including training in math, science, and the liberal arts, and to ensure that quality higher education is an affordable aspiration for all families.

I believe there are several ways we can make immediate progress on all of our education goals:

  • Ending the unfair and unproductive attacks on teachers.
  • Increasing our investment in early learning programs, striving to have every child have the opportunity for a pre-school experience.
  • Helping states transform their most challenged schools to ensure every child has access to quality education.
  • Developing shared educational standards that help provide young people the lessons, skills and tools to succeed in a competitive global economy.
  • Developing effective measures of learning and academic performance to create high, and realistic, expectations and accountability for educating our children.
  • Offering affordable technical, undergraduate, and graduate education, through community colleges, colleges, and universities.