[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 51 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3714-S3715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to recognize an 
outstanding Minnesotan who has been chosen as the national Teacher of 
the Year.
  A resident of Worthington, MN, Mary Beth Blegen has been teaching for 
30

[[Page S3715]]

years. This year she was selected as the national Teacher of the Year 
for her significant contributions to education.
  Mary Beth Blegen teaches social studies and English at Worthington 
Senior High School. Her principal, Bruce Blatti, describes her as a 
teacher who cares for her students inside and outside of the classroom.
  Mary Beth Blegen's theater arts background allows her classroom to 
become an interactive learning center where student participation is an 
integral part of the process.
  Whether it is history, humanities, or English literature, she allows 
her students to form their own ideas, discuss them and implement them.
  This environment allows her to listen to her students and engage in 
conversation that enables students to bring out the best in themselves.
  Teachers like Mary Beth Blegen represent the key to America's future. 
As our children face the challenges of the 21st century, it is 
dedicated educators like Mary Beth Blegen who accept the challenge of 
turning the young people of today into the leaders of tomorrow.
  Mr. President, I hope that you and the rest of my Senate colleagues 
will join me in congratulating one of America's outstanding educators.

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