While reading the McPherson Newspaper I was so pleased to see the Opinion section having Jerry Moran talking about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program.

I agree with Congressman Moran. I made comment on NCLB on my “get to know Randy Conyers” DVD. My comments were loaded on the Internet YouTube.com site back in February under Education Part 1 & 2.

Both Congressman Moran and myself express our concern on Teaching By Test rather than giving the student the opportunity to excel. Being a previous teacher I know much on this subject. If my intent, as an educator, is to produce top scores all I have to do is teach what is on the test. It is very tempting to do. It will help with funding for my school, it will let your community perceive that you have educational excellence and give your child a false sense of self-esteem. What kind of education is that for your child?

I personally know of a teacher who made the decision to teach by test. Large corporations were notified that there is a class ready to graduate with the highest test scores in the history of the school. The scores made everyone have much joy. Student placement would be in high paying jobs. Corporations wanted to have extensive interviews with these students. Not a single student was offered a job. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company followed up with the school. They wanted to have a personal investigation. They desperately needed employees. Their hopes were high. The finding was the students were taught what was on the school’s test.

Congressman Moran states he will strive for improvements. “We must make sure we do not take the joy out of teachers teaching and students learning.” I have the name for this. Student Training on Gaining Excellence Reform. The acronym is STRONGER.

Jerry Moran stated it this way. “Strong schools are the foundation for strong communities, which ultimately make for a better Kansas."

I would like to sponsor a house bill, which will be known as STRONGER.

Rather than having a system called NCLB I propose STRONGER. Going from no child left behind to a system that will allow every student to excel, to have joy in teaching, to have joy in learning is the mindset I strive for.

This is one of the reasons that I am running for the House of Representatives for McPherson, Lindsborg, Galva and Canton.

This is Randy Conyers for a STRONGER Kansas.