[Schneed10]

I've got a number of issues, and a number of things I like. Overall, I abstained from the vote.

• Teacher Service Scholarships: Cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.

Source of funding? That's a big question mark. If you're going to pull the troops home from Iraq, I'd like to see that money go back to the taxpayers, reducing government spending. I don't want to see the Iraq money spent on things like this.

• Districts will be able to design programs that reward accomplished educators who serve as a mentor to new teachers with a salary increase. Districts can reward teachers who work in underserved places like rural areas and inner cities. And if teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.

How the hell can you measure which teachers "perform well" in the classroom?

• Make science and math education a national priority

I love this idea, we need it. But it's short on details.

• Standardized tests drain creativity from schools

Not sure what this means.

• Provide funds for states to implement a broader range of assessments that can evaluate higher-order skills, including students’ abilities to use technology, conduct research, engage in scientific investigation, solve problems, present and defend their ideas

I like this idea a lot. There are a lot more forms of intelligence than just your traditional reading, writing, and math.

• $4,000 college tuition for 100 hours public service/year

Again, source of funding? American citizens should try actually saving and investing their money for a change.

• Double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs to serve one million more children.

Parenting should be the answer here, not government funding.

• Streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.

Brilliant idea. This will streamline paperwork and make use of the considerable infrastructure already in place with the IRS. I'm hopeful that there are other politicians who are actually considering improving efficiencies within the government's processes.