[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PAYING TRIBUTE TO DIXIE LUKE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor and congratulate 
Dixie Luke for teaching English and social studies to seventh and 
eighth grade students for thirty years. After providing a positive 
influence for hundreds of students in their most critical years, she 
has decided to move on from the teaching profession.
  Dixie is a longtime Colorado resident--she was born in Hotchkiss, 
Colorado, and has lived in Glenwood Springs for thirty years. Even now 
she returns almost daily to her birthplace to build the foundation for 
her next adventure, which involves making sheep's milk cheese, 
including the caring for the sheep. She also plans on planting a nearby 
vineyard.
  In addition to teaching a more traditional English and social studies 
curriculum, Dixie used an interdisciplinary unit to give her students a 
different perspective on learning. One example involved taking students 
on a day trip to Meeker in order to relate literature to real life. The 
class first read The Hay Meadow, by Gary Paulson, which is about a boy 
in Wyoming who has to go to high country to spend a summer working with 
sheep. Dixie explained that many of her students are from cities and 
don't have the personal experience to help them relate to the novel's 
setting. The class then visited the sheep dog trials in Meeker, where 
they were able to watch the highly trained sheep dogs perform several 
maneuvers. Another example of a favorite part of the job is the 
``Mosaic'' project, which involves teaching the students to use 
fourteen different reference sources, and then to cite them.
  While she is an old hand at working with kids, in the past few years, 
she has discovered a few new enjoyable aspects of the job. For 
instance, she says the results of new CSAP testing have provided more 
verification for how much her students have been learning. ``The 
Glenwood Springs Middle School had the highest reading and writing 
scores in the district,'' she proudly explained, and those scores are 
also well above the State average. ``I always thought that we were 
preparing the kids well, and it was fun to start seeing those 
results.'' Also, during her last five or six years of teaching, Dixie 
has enjoyed working with new teachers. One fun thing is ``helping young 
teachers . . . to work with the kids in the classroom in a successful 
way,'' she said.
  Mr. Speaker, Dixie Luke has been a fantastic teacher for thirty 
years. She has committed herself to her students and has helped to 
equip them with the education and confidence vital for their success. I 
would like to thank her for her longtime dedication, and I wish her 
luck on her next adventure.

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