United States Senator - Lamar Alexander: "American History and Civics Act of 2003"
Yesterday, we had a fine lunch with Senator Lamar Alexander and 93 Ashbrook Scholars, and talked about Keeping the Teaching of American History in its Rightful Place in Our Schools.

Senator Alexander is a remarkable man - you may recall he ran for President; he was Governor of Tennesee, and was also U.S. Secretary of Education, and President of the University of Tennesee.

You may recall that the U.S. Senate actually held hearings on the poor state of History Education in the land. Sen. Alexander sponsored (with Sen. Reid and later others) S504, the American History and Civics Act of 2003. It passed, and the USG will spend $100 million by 2008 to improve the teaching of civics and history. Among the initiatives IS Presidential Academy for American History and Civics - which Alexander announced yesterday.

And that $100,000,000? If anyone from the US Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement is listening (or any other funder) we could do some amazing things with $3000 or $30,000.