When supporter Bob Parker, of Story City, introduced Huckabee and explained why he and his wife support him, he said, "As far as I know, he has no skeletons in his closet. And I'm sure people have looked."
Rather than speaking from the podium, Huckabee - an ordained Baptist minister and former governor of Arkansas - sat near the front of the room while he summarized his experiences with education issues in Arkansas and responded to comments and questions from those present. He said that his education reforms in Arkansas, which resulted in students earning markedly better test scores in that state, demonstrate that he understands the pertinent issues and is able to implement programs that will improve the quality of the education system.
"I was the first Arkansas governor in 50 years who put his own kids through public school," he added.
"One of the real passions I have is that education should be comprehensive," which would include mandating music and art classes, rather than treating them as extra-curricular activities, he said. "I like to think of (such courses) as absolutely essential. The future will need creative thinkers."
He said he also believes that music and art programs have "intrinsic value, beyond raising math and science scores" (as some researchers say those programs do). Huckabee also made reference to a study that showed, he said, that the greatest predictor of whether students will finish college is "accessibility to a rigorous and broad curriculum."
In response to a question regarding the No Child Left Behind Act, Huckabee said he thinks the federal law's "strength is also its weakness." He believes the law prevents disabled and English-as-a-second language students from getting lost in the system. But at the same time, he said, it also doesn't allow for schools with disproportionate numbers of disabled and ESL, or otherwise disadvantaged, children to adequately account for those disproportionate numbers in the schools' test performance results.
A man in the audience who identified himself as a retired ISU history professor said he believes No Child Left Behind should place more emphasis on social studies because "becoming a good citizen is just as important" as reading and math. Huckabee agreed with the man, saying that the Act "needs to address a broader curriculum."
As President, he would put an educator or a strong "education governor" in charge of the Department of Education, he said. He also said he believes that education is primarily a state function: "I'm a true Jeffersonian, in terms of the Tenth Amendment" to the U.S. Consitution.
In response to a question from the Journal regarding the tenure denial of Iowa State University astronomer, Guillermo Gonzalez, who wrote a book while at ISU in which he claimed to offer evidence for "Intelligent Design," Huckabee made clear before he responded that he was unfamiliar with the specific case.
"One of the values of an education is being exposed to a wide variety of ideas, whether you're going to agree with them or not," Huckabee said, speaking generally about curricula at public educational institutions. That's why, he explained, he favors the study of debate and forensics, in which students are expected to argue for or against positions regardless of their personal views.
He also said, "I never expected the public schools to religiously indoctrinate (my children) - and frankly, I didn't want them to." He said our society needs "more church outreach." "An education would give them the tools." He said his own values taught him to draw certain conclusion about the world. As part of his own personal faith, he said, he looks at the physical world and concludes it was designed by an intelligent creator.
He emphasized that he's an "unapologetic conservative," but with regard to the extreme left and extreme right, he said, "I think sometimes you have to cut off both ends of the sausage and eat from the middle."
In response to a question about where education funding should come from - the federal government or the states - Huckabee said it should be the responsibility of the states. "If the states know the feds are going to come in and take over (to make up for deficiencies in education funding on the state level), then the states aren't going to fund education." Eventually, he added, lawsuits will be filed against individual states because of their failure to provide adequate or equitable education.
Regarding vouchers for Christian and other private schools, he said, "I think parents should have the choice, but I don't necessarily think everybody else should have to pay for it."
Huckabee said he succeeded in raising teachers' salaries in Arkansas, but he also later said, "I think one of the problems with teachers' unions has been the focus on teachers' salaries and not quality of education." He argued that teachers need to be better educated about the legislative process, and legislators need to be more familiar with the classroom
He added that he was "the first Republican to show up at an NEA convention."
"If you really care about kids, it's not a Democratic or Republican issue. It's a vertical issue, not a horizontal one. And whoever (addresses that) ought to be elected."
Huckabee's Web site is www.mikehuckabee.com.
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