The Federal ParentPlus loan program for public post secondary education is substantially more expensive than the Federal Student Subsidized loan. Make terms and rates the same as Fed Sub Student loans.

The average student loan is $30,000. College tuition at both public and private universities has been escalating way beyond inflation. High tuition is one of the main causes for the widening gap between rich and poor. Faculty will be better off with affordable tuition rather than pricing it out of the reach of the middle class. The tuition income should be directed mostly at education rather than adminitration. The financial stability of many colleges and universities is threatened by out of reach tuition and the alternative of free online courses. Ensuring affordable tuition is both the financial and moral answer.

In 2011, the Governor of TN was considering allocating TN Lottery Reserves to help support TN budget deficit. It has been reported that the CEO of the TN Lottery earns $600K a year. Rural schools are receiving after-school funds to purchase MacBooks while most of the proceeds come from the poor inter-city lottery players who do not even have an after-school program. So, is this reverse Robin Hood? Before moving to TN from GA, I thought the GA Lottery was bad, cutting back funding every year. At least the GA Lottery pays 100% of a high achieving college freshman's tuition. $4,000 does not pay even half the tuition for any college my son's applying to attend here in TN. According to the 2012 Quality Counts report from the Education Research Center TN scored in the bottom 10 of the 50 states in each of the four tested areas in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Currently, TN students ranked second to last on the ACT test and approximately 21% of TN adults hold a college degree, far below the national average. Our children's education should be out top priority, and the mishandling and misappropriation of TN Lottery funds needs to stop.

My son is arguably smarter than most of his teachers. Yet they won't move him ahead in grade level. In essence, they're sucking his incentive to improve his knowledge. I have consistently been promised they will challenge him and have failed...............

Under the current mayor the focus has been on blaming teachers as characterized by his administration's obsession with the development of an "I gotcha" teacher evaluation system; rather than recognizing that effective teaching is an art form not a student testing taking, consultant profit making, data driven and teacher paper pushing - corporation. Using our children as guinea pigs by closing schools rather than supporting them and pitting public schools against charter schools resulting in overcrowded school building and classrooms - children are human beings not tools or corporate things. Education is the enterprise of caring about student learning; it is meant to be led by an educator who understands the various needs of all children not a dictating privitization, means to an end, legacy for ambitious politicians. Our schools must be governed by community and parental input which includes the responsibilities and idealogy indicated by our president during the recent election: "Teachers must inspire, Principals must lead, Parents must urge and children must do the work." by the President of the United States of America Barack Obama. We deserve better give our schools back to our parents, teachers, students, and community by mandating parental and community input in the governance and/or leadership of our schools.

Oklahoma schools are being starved for funds and made to submit to draconian cuts in budgets and support. Barresi wants to send public money to private and religious schools while also starting and paying 'for profit' charter schools for her campaign friends.

We do not want our teachers carrying guns in our Schools. Tell the NRA no way and under no circumstances will our teacher take on that task.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of veterans with average student debt of $42,000. They have fallen through administrative cracks and have large student debts because of this. They have honorably served their country and now are burdened with large student debts that affect their ability to support their families.

I do not want guns in my Grandson;s school.

My friend recently graduated from college with a degree in Chemical Engineering with an impressive GPA. However, he now works a minimum wage job to pay his bills temporarily during his remaining time in the US before he is forced to leave. This economy is tough on us all but I hate seeing my friend having to be ashamed of the choices his parents made by employers. He like many other STEM (Science, Technology and Engineering Major) students should be judged on their achievements and not their nationality. Tell our government to help these kids stay in the US and grant them legal work status.

When I was going to college, students had little experience, and even fewer options than to borrow excessively in order to fund their education. This created a slippery slope, as many feel that regardless of their major they are guaranteed jobs on the basis of having an undergraduate degree. With the present state of the economy, many are now leaving their passions behind and instead choosing in-demand professions, or working in sales or retail. History will look at America's decline much the same way it saw the decline of Ancient Rome, Medieval Italian city-states such as Venice and Florence, and even enlightenment France and Germany. It first arises with a decline of the artist class, where financial constraints of the state cause many to abandon the profession. After this follows morality, Faith, and general progress leading to decadence.

One short week after the Sandy Hook tragedy, NRA leadership called for ‘guns in schools’ as the antidote to future incidents. We know this is not the answer—more guns means more shootings, more accidents, more tragedy. Putting loaded guns into the hands of school personnel is simply unacceptable. But eighteen states (including California, Connecticut and Hawaii) already permit teachers to carry guns. The details for these permissions vary, but the result is the same—children can end up in harms way. Currently, several other states have already proposed bills to arm our teachers. At the same time, teachers, administrators and parents are speaking out overwhelmingly against guns in civilian hands at school. This includes the teaching community of Sandy Hook. The NRA has really only one motive in wanting to arm our teachers and school staff—more guns sales, and hence more profits. We need national legislation so that these politicized dramas, and their potentially disastrous consequences, do not get played out one state at a time. Like regulations for our food and drugs, keeping guns out of schools is a matter of national health. For more information on proposed legislation, local decisions and responses from teachers and parents, please visit our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TeachersAgainstGunsInSchools Please sign this petition today. And encourage others to sign as well. Let’s work together to put as much distance as possible between children and guns.