Who's News
March 25, 2004
Meet Rod Paige, Secretary of Education
Kid Reporter Henry Rome talks to the U.S. Secretary of Education
 TFK Kid Reporter Henry poses with Rod Paige. |
Up in a busy seventh floor office in the Department of Education Building in Washington, D.C., Secretary of Education Rod Paige says that everyday is 'atypical.' Amid the hustle and bustle, Paige sat down with Time For Kids Kid Reporter Henry Rome to discuss the No Child Left Behind law, the biggest educational problems we face as a society, school lunch and the future of education in America.
 |  TFK Kid Reporter Henry is ready for his big interview with Secretary Paige. |
TFK: Education and school are the most important aspects in the lives of kids like me and the readers of TFK. What, in your opinion, are the biggest educational problems facing America today?
Paige: I think the biggest educational problem facing America today is the achievement gap between the ethnic communities. I don't think that the nation has paid sufficient attention to it and I think that it has major economic and social consequences.
TFK: In your experience, have you had any inequalities in access to education when you were growing up as a child?
Paige: I had access to a wonderful education as a child. I grew up in a segregated community but I had a family of educators. My sisters were all educators. My mother was a librarian. My father was a principal during the first part of my elementary years. The facilities and resources we got from the state were very inferior, which gives me more confidence in my belief now that education quality is more related to the level of expectations and the quality of the teacher than it is many of the other aspects you hear people talk about so much.
TFK: What are the long-term goals of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act?
Paige: To change the culture in public education to where the level of expectations for all children is very high including those children who now many people feel are more difficult to teach.
TFK: What are your greatest challenges in implementing the NCLB Act?
Paige: I think communication is probably the most difficult challenge. Being able to reach teachers and schools is very challenging but it is very necessary.
 Rod Paige visits with students on one of his many classroom visits. | |
Paige: The parent is the child's primary teacher. The problem we experience here in America now, though, is the family in many cases does not provide the strong support that we need. Those kids who are on the bottom end of the achievement gap tend to have less parental support than other kids and so that means the school has to overcome that and that is very difficult to do.
TFK: I spend my summers in Woods Hole, Massachusetts where my dad conducts research for the University of Pennsylvania and I go to science school there. How do you feel science education in the United States stacks up to that of foreign countries?
Paige: Well I think we have a real serious problem here. We don't stack up very well. In fact, two years ago, there was a commission called National Security for the 21st Century and they told us in their report that if we didn't get the Math and Science education improved that we would put our nation at considerable risk.
TFK: Are you in favor of year-round schooling? How does that affect schools' performances in standardized tests or in general?
Paige: The decision about that should be left up to the local community. I've seen communities who put the argument forth that this year-round system breaks the rhythm of families who plan vacations together and holidays together. The other side of it is you can become more efficient by having year-round schooling and more efficiency in the use of buildings and resources.
TFK: On the nutrition front, how do you feel about privatizing school cafeterias and allowing fast food chains into them?
Paige: I think you can have a private food operation without having some of the current fast food entities that are so popular now. There are companies that are providing food services to school districts that are very high quality in terms of their nutrient content. I would lean more towards companies that have overall responsibility for the system and can be managed and charged with making sure the nutrition is foremost in their consideration rather than profit.
TFK: How do you feel about soda in schools? Do you think soda machines and other snack vending machines should be allowed?
Paige: Here again, that's a decision that should be made by local communities. Some communities feel that (this is) a way to raise revenues and that this offsets some of the concerns. Others feel that they shouldn't do that at all.
TFK: How often do you get to visit classrooms? And, what do you see in them when you go?
Paige: I get to visit classrooms quite often, once or twice a week and usually the classrooms I see are really exciting places. As a matter of fact, I am more comfortable there than I would be sitting here behind the desk. When you see the actual activities and the smiles of children and the clean, spacious classrooms and that type of thing, it is very encouraging.
|  Henry gets down to business with the Secretary of Education. |
Paige: Yeah, I think it is a good idea but here again it's something that should be left up to the various communities to make the decision.
TFK: What qualities do you think are important for teachers these days to have?
Paige: A teacher must have first of all the love for kids. Then, teachers must have content knowledge, must be experts and have good, deep knowledge of the field they are teaching. Third, a teacher must have high expectations of students.
TFK: What are the greatest challenges facing teachers today?
Paige: The biggest one would be the lack of the highest quality parental support. There are a lot of different communities where parental support is not quite as strong and that means that the teacher has to make up for a lot of that lack of support. I think the shift to a two-parent working economy puts a strain on the schools.
TFK: Bullying is an increasing problem in schools. How do you think schools can best address it?
Paige: That is a place where we're going to need a lot of help from the community. You've got to have a strong communication system there where all parts and organizations can be aware and be supportive of the kinds of rules and culture that you need in order to cut down on bullying.
TFK: The pressure for students to excel in standardized testing has led to the concern that teachers are spending too much time 'teaching to the test' and neglecting important curriculum areas that are not covered by standardized tests. What are your thoughts on this?
Paige: Well, first of all I think there is a vast misunderstanding about that. The types of tests that are required by the No Child Left Behind Act are tests that are aligned with the standards that should be taught. Testing is about knowing and if you do not test you don't know. If you don't know what the child has learned or has not learned then you cannot be very efficient in your teaching.
TFK: If you could have any fantasy job besides being the Secretary of Education, what would it be?
Paige: Elementary school teacher.
TFK: Do you think testing is the best way to measure a school's overall performance?
Paige: I think it is the only way to measure a school's overall performance.
TFK: What is your favorite part of being Secretary of Education?
Paige: It offers the opportunity to play a part in what I believe to be a historic moment. I am very deeply appreciative of having the chance to serve the President especially at this period in time because I believe as we look back this is going to be a time that is going to be perceived to have been a turning point in our economy and also in our international relations.
TFK: What advice do you have for students in general?
Paige: Study hard, master the fundamentals: Reading, writing and computing.
