[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 177 (Wednesday, December 19, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       TRIBUTE TO MS. MELINDA DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 18, 2001

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ms. Melinda Day 
of Lenoir City, Tennessee, in my District. She was recently chosen as 
Tennessee Teacher of the Year 2002. Ms. Day teaches fifth grade at 
Lenoir City Elementary School.
  This honor is well deserved for Ms. Day, who has been teaching for 
six years. Even when she was a child, Ms. Day would practice being a 
teacher in the basement of her parents' home.
  Her students enjoy learning in her classroom. she teaches with 
enthusiasm and a real love for educating children.
  Ms. Day has traveled to Japan on two occasions to teach as a part of 
the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program and the Fulbright Master 
Fund Teacher Program.
  This Nation would be a much better place and our students would be 
better educated if there were more people and teachers like Melinda 
Day.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Ms. Day on a job well done. 
She serves as an inspiration for educators all over the Country. I have 
included an article from the Knoxville News-Sentinel that highlights 
the accomplishments of Ms. Day that I would like to call to the 
attention of my fellow Members and other readers of the Record.

         [From the Knoxville (TN) News-Sentinel, Nov. 19, 2001]

                        Tennessee's Top Teacher


             Melinda K. Day is now vying for national honor

                          (By Jennifer Lawson)

       Lenoir City Elementary School fifth-grader Alexis Lawson 
     thinks she knows why her teacher, Miss Day, was chosen the 
     Tennessee Teacher of the Year 2002.
       ``She's a good teacher because she listens to people,'' 
     Alexis said as she led a visitor to Melinda K. Day's 
     classroom.
       Day was recently chosen to represent Tennessee in the 
     competition for National Teacher of the Year, which will 
     culminate next April in a ceremony at the White House.
       At 28, Day's been teaching for six years officially, but 
     she actually started teaching at age 6 when she set up a 
     classroom complete with a row of antique desks in her 
     parents' basement or in the back of the family horse trailer.
       ``Every day after school I would rush home to `teach' what 
     I learned that day and model my teacher's actions in my play 
     classroom,'' Day wrote in her state competition essay. ``This 
     love of learning and teaching has always been an integral 
     part of me. My mom and dad instilled the value of education 
     in me at a very early age.''
       It only takes a few minutes spent in Day's classroom to 
     feel the enthusiasm and energy she spreads to her students. 
     Her classroom is decorated with fish and palm trees, and a 
     tank of goldfish sits on one counter. She loves things 
     tropical and through her fiance, Chris Webster, she's become 
     a fan of Jimmy Buffett and his ocean-inspired music.
       ``Your life is so precious you can't be replaced by 
     anyone,'' is written across the top of the blackboard.
       Her age belies her experience, which includes summers 
     teaching in Japan and Wales as well as bachelor's, master's 
     and education specialist's degrees from the University of 
     Tennessee. She also traveled to Japan to teach as part of the 
     Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program in 1998 and again 
     last year as a recipient of the Fulbright Master Teacher 
     Program.
       She said spending time in Japan and not speaking the 
     language made her understand the frustration Spanish speaking 
     children feel when they come to Lenoir City Elementary. Over 
     the past few years, the school has taught a growing 
     population of Mexican immigrants.
       ``She has served as an inspiration to more experienced 
     teachers and helped to change the attitudes of some teachers 
     with less enthusiasm,'' wrote Lenoir City Schools 
     Superintendent Wayne Miller in a letter supporting Day's 
     nomination. ``Another point which makes Ms. Day an exemplary 
     teacher.''
       The Alabama native, who grew up in Lenoir City, Iowa and 
     South Carolina, said she's like her father who ``has to have 
     change constantly.'' She channels that need for change into 
     her teaching.
       ``Teaching to her is 24-7,'' said Lenoir Elementary 
     Principal Patricia Jones. ``She's got a unique quality about 
     her that creates an environment for the children where they 
     feel safe to learn.''
       Day credits three elementary teachers for cultivating her 
     natural love of teaching: Melanie Amburn and Donna Langley 
     (now Zukjowski) of Eaton Elementary School in Loudon County 
     and Julia Pratt, who teaches in Marion, Iowa. More than the 
     subject matter she learned, she remembers how the teachers 
     made her feel about learning and her potential.
       ``Not only did these teachers set high expectations for 
     students (to) learn the basic skills, but (they) also wanted 
     each child to gain confidence and develop a sense of humor to 
     enjoy life,'' she wrote in her essay. ``The small acts of 
     kindness exhibited by these teachers still make me realize 
     the importance of personally knowing all of my students and 
     learning what encouragements they need to make them feel 
     better about themselves each day.''
       Her toughest decision after winning the $3,500 prize 
     accompanied by a crystal award and a certificate signed by 
     Gov. Don Sundquist, was deciding whom to take to Washington 
     with her--her mother, her father or her fiance.
       ``I'm taking my mom with me.'' Day said. ``She's a big 
     Republican. When I told her, she jumped up and down like a 
     little girl.''

     

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