[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TRIBUTE TO THE CEA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 1998

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fine 
organization that represents the teachers of my state, the Connecticut 
Education Association. 1998 marks the 150th anniversary of the CEA, an 
advocate of teachers and public education that represents not only the 
30,000 teachers in its ranks but the hundreds of thousands of children 
they instruct.
  We in Congress all know the crucial role that teachers play in 
educating our nation's children. We as legislators and parents count on 
them to do their job with enthusiasm, vigor, and skill. We value them 
as important factors in our children's well-being, and we treat them as 
such.
  However, respect for teachers has not always been as high as our 
beliefs would suggest. For many decades, teacher pay and benefits were 
lower than in most other occupations. Society did not reward teachers 
properly for their performance nor were they provided with much needed 
support.
  Organizations such as the CEA have enlightened the public and its 
legislators about the need to attract and keep excellent teachers, the 
need to compensate them appropriately for their toils, and the need to 
provide them with a supportive work environment that helps them do 
their job at the level we expect. The CEA has worked and is still 
working to advance the teaching profession and accordingly, advance the 
children they instruct.
  When the CEA was formed in 1848, teachers in Connecticut's small 
towns, many of which are in my district, were typically versatile young 
women who made education come alive from bland textbooks. They taught 
in one-room schoolhouses in which all of the town's children attended, 
they formulated lesson plans for each child, catering to individual 
needs.
  The CEA came about as a means of helping teachers with their tasks. 
As Connecticut grew and modernized, the CEA took action to improve 
teacher's pay and establish teaching as a profession. Salaries rose, 
benefits grew, and the requirements that were placed on teachers were 
expanded. Because of these hard fought efforts, the quality of 
instruction in our classrooms has increased. Today's teachers benefit 
from predecessors who sacrificed pay and time so that our children 
would benefit from high-quality teachers and a high-quality 
environment.
  Today's public school teachers are just as versatile as their 19th 
century counterparts. A typical Connecticut teacher today must deal 
with as many as 150 or more students in one day, students from a 
variety of backgrounds, from a variety of family structures, with a 
variety of interests, and deal with a variety of pressures. Despite the 
enormity of their task, teaches regularly deliver. The CEA serves as 
their partner in their efforts, providing services and assistance to 
its members.
  I commend the CEA on its proud history and congratulate it on the 
milestone is has reached. Connecticut, and the nation, is undoubtedly 
better off because of the CEA.

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