[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 11, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1058-E1059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   OUTSTANDING SCIENCE EDUCATION IS ALIVE AND WELL IN MIKE MINNEMA'S 
                               CLASSROOM

                                 ______


                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 11, 1996

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a fellow Minnesotan, 
and a friend, who was recently awarded the Presidential Award for 
Excellence in Science Teaching, Mike Minnema.
  Mike teaches chemistry at North Community High School, which is part 
of the Minneapolis School System, where I once taught science myself. I 
had the pleasure of working with Mike during those years in a special 
setting, a Minnesota camp attended by young adults from the Minneapolis 
area. It was a summer long task for Mike but just a couple weeks 
assignment for me; however, it was an experience and relationship that 
was truly the essence of teaching life sciences. In some respects, I 
feel very much connected to the role of teaching. Even though the 
responsibilities and role in a policymaking task are different, it is 
simply a different focus on the same challenge.
  Presidential Awards are given to outstanding educators in the fields 
of science and mathematics, and they represent the Nation's highest 
honor in these fields of education. Only one secondary school science 
teacher in

[[Page E1059]]

Minnesota is recognized each year, and I am glad to know that Mike 
Minnema's dedication to science and his students is being rewarded with 
such an honor.
  In a time when people routinely refer to our Nation's pubic schools 
as uninventive, poor quality institutions, Mike demonstrates the error 
in these descriptions and makes science something for students not just 
to study, but to explore. His classes go beyond chemistry textbooks and 
laboratory exercises to include real world subjects such as humanity's 
affect on the environment. As a policymaker who has had the privilege 
of crafting numerous laws protecting our Nation's environmental 
heritage, I am glad to know that mike is teaching young Minnesotans the 
importance of protecting our Nation's natural resource legacy for 
future generations. His classes also reach beyond the science of 
chemistry, interweaving mathematics and technology into lesson plans, 
which allow students to connect what they learn in his classroom to 
their other educational disciplines and the outside world.
  Mike's experience outside of his teaching career enhance his lesson 
plans as well. He brings his students a view of the practical uses for 
chemical science, and this insight, hopefully, encourages other 
students to explore careers in scientific fields. Mike has worked in 
both the private and public sectors, utilizing his own science 
education background to benefit organizations from 3M and Honeywell to 
the Los Alamos National Laboratories. Mike has focused a teaching 
lesson for his students on measurement of pollution in Minnesota lakes, 
specifically the fluctuation of salt levels and how the environmental 
degradation is affecting the species and ecosystems of those special 
wetland areas.
  As the world increasingly relies on science and technology, ensuring 
future generations understand science and training some for scientific 
careers will become an even more important endeavor. Educators such as 
Mike Minnema play an essential role in our Nation's ability to not only 
graduate adequately prepared scientists from our schools, but to 
attract students to scientific fields and generally enhance science 
literacy. I want to express my sincere congratulations and thanks to 
Mike for his efforts to inspire young minds to explore science and 
respect the environment and for his dedication to protecting the 
natural resource legacy that those young minds will one day inherit. 
Minnesota is truly fortunate to have such an exceptional educator 
working for its students.

                          ____________________