Wellstone Recalled As Friend of Public Education

By Erik W. Robelen

Washington

Paul Wellstone is well remembered for his school visits.

He often said that he stopped in at a Minnesota school about once every two weeks. And when the Minnesota senator was there, he didn't just speak. He listened.

"[He had this] ability to really engage kids of all ages, and to listen to them," said Judy Schaubach, the president of Education Minnesota, the state's combined affiliate of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. "Sometimes you see [politicians] who are in schools, and it's really a photo-op. But with Paul, he...