Pres. Clinton's State of the Union speeches: on Education
Goals 2000: public school choice & character education
Every diploma ought to mean something. I challenge every community, every school, and every State to adopt national standards of excellence, to measure whether schools are meeting those standards, to cut bureaucratic red tape so that schools and teachers
have more flexibility for grassroots reform, and to hold them accountable for results. That's what our Goals 2000 initiative is all about.
I challenge every State to give all parents the right to choose which public school their children will attend and to let teachers form new schools with a charter they can keep only if they do a good job.I challenge all our schools to teach
character education, to teach good values and good citizenship. And if it means that teenagers will stop killing each other over designer jackets, then our public schools should be able to require their students to wear school uniforms.
Source: Pres. Clinton's 1996 State of the Union message to Congress
Jan 23, 1996
America Reads initiative: one million volunteer tutors
We must do more to help all our children read. Forty percent--40 percent--of our 8-year-olds cannot read on their own. That's why we have just launched the
America Reads initiative, to build a citizen army of one million volunteer tutors to make sure every child can read independently by the end of the third grade. We will use thousands of AmeriCorps volunteers to mobilize this citizen army.
We want at least 100,000 college students to help, and tonight I am pleased that 60 college presidents have answered my call, pledging that thousands of their work-study students will serve for one year as reading tutors.
This is also a challenge to every teacher and every principal: You must use these tutors to help students read. And it is especially a challenge to our parents: You must read with your children every night.
Source: Pres. Clinton's 1997 State of the Union message to Congress
Feb 4, 1997
National crusade: educate for 21st century knowledge economy
I have a plan, a call to action for American education, based on these 10 principles:- A national crusade for education standards, representing what all our students must know to succeed in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.
- To have the
best schools, we must have the best teachers.
- We must do more to help all our children read. 40% of our 8-year-olds cannot read on their own.
- Learning begins in the first days of life. We should start teaching children before they start school.
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Every State should give parents the power to choose the right public school for their children.
- Character education must be taught in our schools.
- We cannot expect our children to raise themselves up in schools that are literally falling down.
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We must 2 years of college universal.
- In the 21st century, we must expand the frontiers of learning across a lifetime.
- We must bring the power of the information age into all our schools.
Source: Pres. Clinton's 1997 State of the Union message to Congress
Feb 4, 1997
Proven formula: higher standards & more accountability
First and foremost, we need a 21st century revolution in education, guided by our faith that every single child can learn. Because education is more important than ever, more than ever the key to our children's future, we must make sure all our children
have that key. That means quality preschool and afterschool, the best trained teachers in the classroom, and college opportunities for all our children.All successful schools have followed the same proven formula: higher standards,
more accountability, and extra help so children who need it can get it to reach those standards. I have sent Congress a reform plan based on that formula. It holds States and school districts accountable for progress and rewards them for results.
Each year, our National Government invests more than $15 billion in our schools. It is time to support what works and stop supporting what doesn't.
Source: Pres. Clinton's 2000 State of the Union message to Congress
Jan 27, 2000
Page last updated: Feb 24, 2019