Teacher Pensions I have worked for over thirty-five years teaching. During that time, I have spent much of my own money to buy supplemental supplies. I have done that willingly. I am looking forward to my pension but know that even if it stands as it is now, I will have to supplement that with part-time work. Please do not change what I have coming to me.

For four years in a row, the governor has used a "Gap Elimination Adjustment" to remove millions of dollars in "promised" State Aid to public schools in New York. What's worse is that this adjustment is not based on community wealth factors so poorer schools get hurt more than wealthier schools.

Rick Brattin is proposing Intelligent Design/Creation be required teaching and given equal time in every science classroom in Missouri, including college level classes, prohibiting families from making their own choice. This will also require the schools to spend money on new text books on or including Intelligent Design. Tell the MO Legislature NO on HB 291.

It is unbelievable that some states and specially Texas cannot fund its schools when the money is available. The workforce of the future needs well educated and prepared personnel who can contribute to the nation, specially in the field of research and technology. The United staes must compete with toher nations and keep high standards in order to do it through a strong educational system. I expect all legislators to encourage better training and support so the United States creates mathematicians, scientists and technology that will move us forward.

Paying for our childrens education is the responsibility of ALL taxpayers. Robbing the teachers retirement fund, like was done in 2003, is not a "constitutional funding mechanism for Oregon's future" as was stated by the Speaker of the House, Tina Kotek. For the first 25 years of teaching, my wife and I planned our retirement, which was reflected to us by the State of Oregon's annual PERS statments. As stated in the "Contract Clause" and the 2005 Oregon Supreme Court decision stating that "decades long pension contributions are considered a labor contract." Therfore all economic working conditions MUST BE BARGAINED. They can not be unilaterally changed, and then be construed to be Constitutional.

I have not been personally affected by the dropping of Head Start from Attleboro, but no one is speaking for the Attleboro residents who would benefit from Head Start. Please pay attention to providing a proven program for children in a community that has many English Language Learners and many families living in poverty.

It was shocking to me to learn that physical, violent and potentially injurious methods are still being used on our children in public schools. In order to prevent your child from being spanked, you have to submit a letter to the school specifying NOT to spank your child.

Guns - especially automatic weapons, which should be used solely in war zones - have no place in schools

As a parent and teacher I have seen the use of standardized tests stifle creativity and problem solving skills by taking over the curriculum in our public schools. Teachers are now spending weeks at a time teaching test taking strategies, drilling kids with rote memorization facts because they know this is how they and their students will be evaluated. Reading and math dominate the curriculum so there is hardly any time for science and social studies. The tests are not a reliable predictor of how smart or talented a student is or how good a teacher is. This must end for the sake of education.

The state of south Carolina ranks near the bottom nationally in education. Improved funding of under performing schools and increasing teacher pay could go a long way to improving the state's educational system. Investing in children and teachers today will yield both monetary and social dividends.

I am concerned about restoring public education funds to the Texas state budget.

My daughter attends 3rd grade in a New York City public school. At age 8, she has been taking the kind of standardized test I wasn't expected to take until high school. These tests are causing intelligent children like her, as young as 8 and 9, to be stressed out and hate school! What's worse, the blind, sudden implementation of these tests means that students in my daughter's grade are being tested on material they haven't studied. And teachers are being expected to teach material for which they are not adequately prepared. How is that fair? Challenging children is a good idea. Setting them up to fail by new and arbitrary tests based on standards with dubious educational efficacy for which children have not been prepared is not. And causing children to feel they are stupid and hate school is one of the worst ideas for the citizens of New York State.