Sen. Rand Paul completely dismissed the idea that low student-to-teacher ratios were precursors to academic success, saying at a recent New Establishment Summit that a much higher ratio is OK by him — even if it’s a million students to one teacher.

“I think we should go to a million to one,” he said, at the event sponsored by Vanity Fair.

He made the comments in the context of discussing class size and technology on a panel that included Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, investor John Doerr and author Bob Woodward.

Mr. Paul said educators should jump on board on new technologies that allow for huge groupings to learn from just one teacher.

“I think extraordinary things can happen,” he said, Vanity Fair reported. “I think the government’s gotten in the way.”

The theme of the panel discussion was to discuss what government could do to leverage technology for the betterment of society, Vanity Fair said.

Common consensus seemed to be: Less is more, and privatization is key. For instance, Mr. Rand didn’t directly address a question tossed his way about climate change and the impacts of humans on the atmosphere — but he did suggest the government wasn’t exactly the best source to protect the environment.

“The way to make sure that the environment is always protected is to make it profitable,” he said, Vanity Fair reported.

The panel also talked about health care, with Mr. Schmidt saying: “It’s about to explode.” Mr. Rand agreed and said, “The consumer is not connected to the product,” Vanity Fair reported.

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