• I believe that every child should have the opportunity for a quality education that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in a global economy.
• Music and the arts are not extraneous, extra-curricular, or expendable - I believe they are essential. I want to provide every child these "Weapons of Mass Instruction."
• Our future economy depends on a creative generation.
• We need to judge the success of our schools by the results we obtain, not the revenue we spend.
• Test scores rose dramatically when I was Governor of Arkansas because of my education reforms.
• I have been a strong, consistent supporter of the rights of parents to home school their children, of creating more charter schools, and of public school choice.
• We need a clear distinction between federal and state roles in education. While there is value in the "No Child Left Behind" law's effort to set high standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks.

I believe that every child should have the opportunity for a qualityeducation that teaches the fundamental skills needed to compete in aglobal economy. As I traveled the country and the world over the lastdecade bringing jobs to Arkansas, the business leaders I met weren'tworried about creating jobs, they were worried about finding skilledand professional workers to fill those jobs.

In addition, I want to provide our children what I call the "Weaponsof Mass Instruction" - art and music - the secret, effective weaponsthat will help us to be competitive and creative. It is crucial thatchildren flex both the left and right sides of the brain. We all knowthe cliché of thinking outside the box: I want our children to be socreative that they think outside the cardboard factory. Art and musicare as important as math and science because the dreamers andvisionaries among us take the rough straw of an idea and spin it intothe gold of new businesses and jobs. It is as important to identify andencourage children with artistic talent as it is those with athleticability. Our future economy depends on a creative generation.

Music has always been an important part of my life. I still play bass guitar in my band, Capitol Offense.

As Governor of Arkansas, I undertook several initiatives toencourage arts in education. I passed landmark legislation to providemusic and art instruction by certified teachers for all Arkansaschildren in grades one through six, forty minutes a week. As Chairmanof the Education and Arts Commission of the States, I created atwo-year initiative called "The Arts - A Lifetime of Learning," whichpromotes the benefits of arts education to all fifty states.

Students with strong art and music programs have higher academicachievement overall, are far more likely to read for pleasure andparticipate in community service, and are less likely to engage indelinquent behavior. These programs have a powerful effect in levelingthe academic playing field for students from lower socio-economicbackgrounds. The study of music improves math scores, spatial reasoningand abstract thinking.

The success of our schools has to be judged by the results weobtain, not the revenues we spend. A focus on true quality rather thanmere quantity requires us to set high standards for our students andteachers, measure their performance diligently, and hold educators andadministrators accountable for the results in an atmosphere oftransparency and efficiency.

As Governor of Arkansas, I created intensive reading and mathprograms that went back to basics. I started with elementary studentsand, as those children thrived, I expanded the program to middle andthen high schools. Our test scores rose dramatically. I then createdone of the most demanding high school curricula in the country, and thenumber of students taking advanced placement classes grew by leaps andbounds.

I opposed the teachers' union and got the Fair Dismissal Law passed,which allowed us to terminate poorly performing teachers. To attracttop talent, I raised teachers' salaries from among the lowest in thenation to among the most competitive. I created systems to make ourschools accountable to both parents and taxpayers by insisting ontransparency in how money is spent, efficiency in putting money intoclassroom programs rather than administrative costs, and clearresponsibility of all employees for the tasks assigned to them.

As Governor, I fought hard for more charter schools, with theirstrong parental involvement and their unique ability to serve aslaboratories for education reform, and for the rights of parents tohome school their children. I am a strong supporter of public schoolchoice. I am proud that my three children attended public schools fromK through twelve, as did my wife and I.

In addition to my gubernatorial experience, I have significantnational experience in education policy. I was Chairman of the NationalGovernors Association from 2005-2006 and also Chairman of the EducationCommittee of the States from 2004-2006, working with governors,legislators, and education chiefs from all fifty states to advanceeducation policy and conduct research on effective trends in education.

We need to test teachers as well as students, replace teachers whoaren't competent, and impose reasonable waiting periods for teachers togain tenure. We should provide bonuses and forgive student loans forhigh-performing teachers to work in low-performing schools. Just asthere are executives in the corporate world who specialize in turningaround failing companies, we need teachers who are "turn-aroundspecialists" for failing schools.

Typical employment procedures provide a disincentive for teachersand often discourage potentially good teachers from entering what Iconsider to be a noble profession.  Educators and teachers should beinvolved in the design of compensation initiatives that encouragetraining and promote performance based on merit, so that our childrencan have the best education in the world.

As President, my education agenda will include working towards aclear distinction between the federal role in assisting and empoweringstates and in usurping the right of states to carry out the educationprograms for their students. While there is value in the "No Child LeftBehind" law's effort to set high national standards, states must beallowed to develop their own benchmarks.