[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 72 (Wednesday, June 5, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4991-S4992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LORNA PALAGYI

  Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, this is the time of year when our 
children across the country are getting out of school. It is also the 
time of year when many of our great teachers are leaving the classroom 
for the last time and retiring. I rise today to honor a very special 
educator from my home State of Ohio, Lorna Palagyi. Lorna is retiring 
this month after 25 years of dedication to Ohio students.

  When I think about her commitment to education, I am reminded of 
something Oliver Wendell Holmes once said:

       The main part of intellectual education is not the 
     acquisition of facts but rather learning how to make facts 
     live.

  For a quarter of a century now, Lorna Palagyi has been doing just 
that--making facts come alive for the

[[Page S4992]]

elementary school children in Madison, OH. She is a graduate of Kent 
State University. She has taught grades 3 through 7 and tutored 
students afterschool, served as a mentor for teachers just starting, 
and helped secure funds for several school projects; one in particular 
that allowed her students to make a large colored map of the United 
States on their playground.
  Not only has she been very dedicated to her children at school, but 
she has also been a terrific mother to her children at home. The mother 
of three children--one of whom happens to be my legislative director, 
Paul Palagyi--Lorna once said the main reason she taught was to help 
her kids through college. But I also suspect the reason she taught was 
because she loved to teach and she loved the students.
  She is certainly dedicated to her family and maintains that she 
simply could not have done it, could not have taught as long as she 
has, without the love and support of her husband, Jim. We should all be 
truly proud of Lorna for her commitment, her dedication to quality 
education. As my own high school principal, Mr. John Malone, said many 
years ago when I was in high school: There really are only two things 
that matter in education: One is a student who wants to learn; the 
other is a good teacher. Lorna is certainly more than just a good 
teacher.
  Over the next decade we will need, it is estimated, at least 2.5 
million new teachers. That is an unbelievable figure. That represents a 
real challenge but also an opportunity for this great Nation of ours to 
get more teachers like Lorna into our school systems, into the 
classrooms, teaching our young people. That is certainly how we will 
prepare our children for their great future.
  Today, we thank Lorna and we also thank teachers throughout our 
country for the great work they do every day for our children. We say 
to Lorna, you are a shining example of exactly the kind of teachers we 
need educating our children. Enjoy your retirement. You certainly 
earned it.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, yesterday we spent a great deal of time 
doing nothing. We spent most all the day in a quorum call.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, this time 
is under the control of the Republican leader or his designee. Is the 
Senator seeking unanimous consent at this time?
  Mr. REID. Madam President, we were in a quorum call. This is the time 
for Republicans. There is no Republican here, so when they show up I 
will be happy to sit down. Until they get here, I will use their time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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