[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THANKING OUR TEACHERS MAY 2-8--TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Albert Einstein once said that 
``It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative 
expression and knowledge''. I rise today to thank our Nation's teachers 
for their exceptional work, compassion and dedication to our children 
everyday. Although May 4th was National Teacher's Day, this entire 
week, May 2-8 is Teacher Appreciation Week.
  I think everyone can think back and remember that one teacher that 
touched their lives--whether it was the one that taught you to read, 
gave you the confidence to learn more, made you feel smart and 
knowledgeable or was the one solid, caring adult in a child's life. The 
origins of Teacher Day are not too defined. Around 1944 Arkansas 
teacher Mattye Whyte Woodridge began corresponding with political and 
education leaders about the need for a national day to honor teachers. 
Woodbridge wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt who in 1953 persuaded the 81st 
Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day. It wasn't until March 
1985, when National Education Association (NEA) and the National PTA 
established Teacher Appreciation Week as the first full week of May 
with the first Tuesday remaining as National Teacher's Day.
  Teachers are true heroes in our communities, who through their 
dedication to children work millions of small miracles every day. Henry 
Brooks Adams, a historian and grandson of President John Quincy Adams 
once said that ``A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where 
his influence stops.'' We must never forget to thank our teachers for 
their service to our society and for creating a better, smarter and 
hopefully kinder future generation.

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