[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E687-E688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ON PRESIDENT BUSH'S EDUCATION PROPOSAL

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                          HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 1, 2001

  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with my colleagues an 
outstanding article written by Linda Banas, an English teacher, a 
constituent, and a resident of Tonawanda, New York, regarding President 
Bush's education proposal. This article, which appeared in the April 
24, 2001 edition of the Buffalo News, is response to the President's 
recent statements on National Public Radio that our children are 
trapped in schools that do not teach and will not change. Linda Banas's 
column appropriately points out that these accusations are groundless. 
She emphasizes that teachers across Western New York and throughout the 
nation are making extra efforts to ensure their students succeed both 
in and outside the classroom. Her thoughtful ideas and observations 
serve as a starting point from which to begin a national conversation 
on education, and I urge all of my colleagues to take the time to read 
the following article.

      My View: Bush's Inane Accusations Won't Improve Our Schools

       I am a teacher. I teach in a nice suburban high school. We 
     have access to the Internet in every classroom. Most of the 
     students go on to post-secondary education. The halls are 
     calm and the students are polite and thoughtful.
       Our district is not without problems, but we can handle 
     them because the community has resources. I am truly thankful 
     for the opportunity I have to focus on what I was trained to 
     do--teach English. As I drive to work, I listen to National 
     Public Radio. Recently, President Bush was talking about 
     education. He said, ``. . . children are trapped in schools 
     that will not teach and will not change.''
       I tried to imagine the teachers and administrators the 
     president says will not teach. I suppose Bush pictures them 
     sifting around tables having morning coffee and planning 
     their day. A kindergarten teacher would snicker as she says, 
     ``I know the whole alphabet, but I am not going to tell even 
     one letter to those kids in my room.'' A second grade teacher 
     would agree, ``I know how to do long division, but I'm not 
     going to teach them how to even do the first step.''
       Bush wants to be the education president. Does he really 
     think some educators go to school to not teach? I know of a 
     high school where the one set of books is chained to the 
     desks so the kids cannot take them home to study. Why doesn't 
     the president know this?
       I know a school librarian who spends part of her paycheck 
     on coats and shoes for children who don't have any, teaches 
     gang members to write poetry, runs baby showers for young 
     mothers who have nothing, and buys food every week for kids 
     who are hungry after school. Why doesn't the president know 
     this?
       I know a teacher of eighth-grade English who has no novels 
     and is allowed one ream of paper a month for her 160 
     students. I know about the hundreds of dollars she spends in 
     the copy stores each year. I know a guidance

[[Page E688]]

     counselor who takes children into her home to help them 
     escape abuse and hunger. Why doesn't Bush know this?
       If I were the education president, I would look at these 
     teachers and the thousands like them who ``will not teach.'' 
     I would look at the neighborhoods around the schools. I would 
     see great poverty and need amidst the plenty and prosperity. 
     If I were the education president, I would wonder why all 
     children do not have clean, warm, well equipped schools.
       If I were the education president, I would ask Congress to 
     provide each child with a school as nice as the ones my 
     daughters attended. That would be a start. Then I would ask 
     how we could improve the neighborhoods where these children 
     live.
       If I were the education president, I would wonder what I 
     could do to help poor parents get training or better jobs. If 
     I were the education president, I would see that every 
     neighborhood had access to a clinic and that all children had 
     enough to eat. After I did all these things, then I would be 
     certain to hold schools accountable for the children in their 
     charge.
       A real education president will use his power to make 
     positive change in the lives of our children. A real 
     education president will not settle for accusations and trite 
     sayings. If I could spend an hour with this education 
     president, I would beg him to spend some time with teachers 
     in the schools he says ``will not teach.'' Then I would ask 
     him to rise above partisanship and make a real difference.

     

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