CEDAR FALLS -- Kyle Graves felt his knees shake as he stepped up to the microphone to ask Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards a question.

But the fifth-grader from Kingsley Elementary in Waterloo had some time to rehearse in his head while standing in line -- it was the last question of the day at Sunday's 2008 Presidential Candidate Education Forum at the University of Northern Iowa.

He didn't miss a beat.

"My mom is a single parent. She's worried about how we're going to afford for me to go to college in eight years," Kyle said. "She wants to know what your plan is to keep college costs from increasing at the present rate."

The former senator from North Carolina said he would expand a program for first-year college students he and his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, helped finance: If a student attends a community college or state university and agrees to work a certain number of hours, their tuition and books will be paid for.

"Kyle you tell your mother that when you get ready to go to college, if she's willing to let you work 10 hours a week, and you come to a great school like this one (UNI), then your tuition and books will be paid for," Edwards replied.

Kyle said he was excited to ask Edwards a question because the only other candidate he's seen -- New York Sen. Hillary Clinton during her July 4 visit to Waterloo -- didn't take questions.

Edwards is the second candidate to attend the educational forum, which is sponsored in part by the Courier's parent company, Lee Enterprises. Republican Sam Brownback, who has since bowed out of the race, attended in August. Republican Mike Huckabee will be at a similar forum at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Maucker Union.

Edwards proposed several financial incentives to help attract more students and teachers to the math and sciences, and more teachers to needy rural and urban schools.

He said all his education proposals would cost about $7 billion in the first year. They would be paid for, in large part, by increasing capital gains taxes from 15 to 28 percent on people making $250,000 or more per year. He said removing banks from the student loan system would be another funding source.

The Democrat is against merit-based pay because he considers the student test performance measures unfair. He called No Child Left Behind "cheap, standardized tests."

We've lived through No Child Left Behind ourselves," said Edwards, whose two youngest children attended public schools until this year. "It's amazing to see the impact No Child Left Behind does to the teachers. They literally spent half a year preparing for a test."

One of Edwards' more original ideas includes a national teacher university he calls a "West Point for teachers." Under the plan, top high school students would train at the school, and tuition would be waived for those who agree to teach in underserved areas or on subjects with a teacher shortage.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.