Dole, remembering her past, offers a teaching blueprint

Associated Press, February 16, 1999

WASHINGTON -- Elizabeth Dole, who is considering a presidential campaign, courted college and university leaders yesterday, and laid out an education platform centered on teaching quality.

Dole also championed school choice and accountability.

"I've refused to join those who often find it expedient to turn teachers into rhetorical punching bags," said Dole, who described her stint teaching 11th-grade history in Melrose, Mass., as part of a master's program at Harvard University.

"Yes," she said, "we should expect the best out of our teachers. Yes, we should reward outstanding performances. . . . But let us never forget that the true heroes of our society are not to be found on a movie screen or a football field. They are to be found in our classrooms."

Dole also promised the American Council on Education that she would champion higher learning. The council is a nonprofit lobbying group for accredited colleges and universities.

"I don't know where the future will take me," she told the more than 1,000 educators, "but I do know that if you are recruiting soldiers in the battle to strengthen federal investment in research, I'm ready to enlist right now."

Dole told the educators that while tenure and financing dominate discussion of higher education, the focus should be on turning out good teachers. "There should be a zero-tolerance policy toward bad teaching," she said.