House Journal: Page 102: Friday, January 15, 1999

Constant and unrelenting change challenges our notion of family. For many of us 

family is not simply defined. Step families, foster families, adopted families, single 
parent families and other arrangements today redefine family. We live life at an ever 
accelerating pace as we incorporate technology into every day life. Adapting to 
changing lifestyles and managing the hectic pace of life while preserving what is best 
about family will require information, knowledge and wisdom. One of the keys to 
successful family life is a good education. 
Iowa has had a long-standing tradition of excellence in education. To maintain that 
tradition and to build upon it for stronger Iowa families will require us to think 
differently about education and to be prepared to invest in it.
In the face of growing research, we can no longer accept that an education starts 
with kindergarten. An education begins at birth. With new jobs being created every 
day, and new skills being required every day we can no longer afford to allow 
graduation to signal the end of an Iowan's education. In Iowa an education never ends 
- it is lifelong.
We must create a lifelong learning system. We must be willing to help equip 
parents to be their child's first and best teachers. We must invest in early childhood 
education so all of our children start school ready to learn. We must reduce class sizes 
in the early grades and improve teacher training to ensure that the basics are taught 
well - to lay a strong foundation for future learning. We must instill in each student 
the knowledge they will individually need to become productive citizens. Our children 
must have access to technology and master its use. We must always be sure that what 
we teach is what we need to learn. In short we must create an educational system that 
embodies excellence and that enables everyone to learn well. Let us strive for a world 
class education system from pre-school to graduate school that is the envy of the nation 
and the world. Nothing short of that commitment will enable us to hold true to the 
traditions of our past and ensure the security of our future.
With a real commitment from all of us today's dream of a quality education, we will 
build stronger families for Iowa's tomorrow.
At the heart of our sense of community is a shared concern for each other. Today we 
face stern challenges to that sense of community. 
Every day dangerous drugs are shipped into our state, grown in our fields, or made 
in our neighborhoods. Each decade the drugs become more dangerous, more addicting, 
and more devastating.
The time has come for each of us to recognize a personal duty. The time has come 
for each of us to send a strong and clear signal that we have had enough.
While we will and we must do all we can do to stop the supply of these drugs - we 
will never succeed until we stop the demand for these drugs. Every adult in this state 
that works with or cares for the children of this state should accept personal 
responsibility to educate our children about the dangers of drugs of all kinds - 
cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and the most dangerous of all meth. To help those young 
people that make the mistake of taking drugs and become addicted to them we must 
dedicate adequate resources to their successful treatment. And for those who fail to 
heed our community's warning about dealing in drugs, we should be prepared to 
respond with swift, sure, and appropriate punishment. 

© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments about this site or page? hjourn@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.

Last update: Thu Jul 15 13:40:03 CDT 1999
URL: /DOCS/GA/78GA/Session.1/HJournal/00100/00102.html
jhf