Santorum argues for return to past ways

^{Photos by DIANA HALL/Northern Iowan}

On Dec. 9, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum argued that education should be run like it was in the past — by parents and communities, instead of the government.

"Can we take a step back and think, how do we solve problems? How have we built America? How was America successful? I think we should take a look at the past to use them for the problems of the future," Santorum said.

Santorum spoke at the University of Northern Iowa as part of the presidential candidate education forums, an ongoing series hosted by UNI and Iowa Public Radio.

During his talk, Santorum referenced the Constitution frequently when describing his views.

Santorum said he wants to go back to a time when education was "basically run by parents and community leaders."

"It's now run by states and the federal government. The government has taken over and we have government-run education in this country," Santorum said. "Pretty soon, (the government will) be lifting (children) out of the nursery and putting them into school because the government needs to get in as soon as they can to influence the educational lives of your children."

During his speech, Santorum argued that the government does not support a full education for children.

"The main focus in schools is tests and academic achievement," Santorum said. "Character, virtue, morality, spirituality; all of the other things that form a well-rounded child are almost by definition and almost by law, weeded out of the public school."

Echoing the sentiments of fellow GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann from the first presidential candidate forum, Santorum argued against the federal government's funding of college grants and loans.

"Pumping more money into the problem and creating more inflation in the area of higher education distorts the market," Santorum said.

During the Q-and-A portion of the event, Santorum answered a variety of questions on hot-button issues such as gay marriage and its effect on education, science in the classroom and the federal government's involvement in education.

Ben Kiefer of Iowa Public Radio, who served as moderator of the event, asked Santorum about his belief that the legalization of gay marriage has affected the K-12 education system.

"You're going to have them read stories about families. Well, families aren't going to be just heterosexual families; they're going to be same-sex families," Santorum said. "Teaching about public health in health classes, all forms of legitimate sexual activity will be taught and more or less equal or the same and will normalize them in schools."

Santorum continued his argument of gay marriage's effect on the education system by citing the lack of power parents will have in controlling what their children will be taught and that some parents "don't want them to be taught that it is good, normal, healthy behavior when they don't believe in it."

Another audience member questioned the candidate about Santorum awarding former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky with the Angels in Adoption Award.

Santorum explained that he lacked knowledge of the situation at the time and noted that the award has since been withdrawn.

In response to his explanation, the audience member asked, "So we shouldn't trust Obama with our kids, but we can trust you?"

Other questions revolved around the discussion of evolution and global warming in the classroom and the "Santorum Amendment."  The amendment was a proposition Santorum made when he was a U.S. senator, with the hope that students learn the difference between a testable theory and a philosophy and learn why evolution is a controversial subject.

"Science should get out of politics and start teaching. Stop trying to make radical claims to the people of America," Santorum said. "Maybe we just don't know for sure, and it might be nice if we just go into the classroom and ask questions instead of the certainty of answers from a politically correct perspective."

Cory Derringer, a senior sociology and psychology double major, disagreed with Santorum's view on science in the classroom.

"I think that his mistake is that he's trying to say that because science can't be about everything, science can't tell us anything and that isn't true because there is evidence — there is overwhelming evidence," Derringer said.

Derringer also disagreed with Santorum's views on federal funding for colleges.

"I think it's worrisome because I think college education should be available to everyone," Derringer said. "Not everyone wants to go to college. It's not everyone's dream, but I think it should be available to everyone, regardless of their financial situation."

After the debate, Melia Bescheta, a freshman theatre major, found the forum helpful in choosing a candidate.

"The forum is about education, and that's entirely why we're here," Bescheta said. "I think it helps to decide on who to vote for. It affects us. It affects everyone, so it's important to hear what politicians have to say."