[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 77 (Monday, June 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4362-H4364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMENDING THE ESTABLISHMENT IN COLLEGE POINT, NEW YORK, OF THE FIRST
KINDERGARTEN IN THE UNITED STATES
Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 47) commending the
establishment in College Point, New York, of the first kindergarten in
the United States, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 47
Whereas in 1854, Conrad Poppenhusen, a successful
businessman from Germany, built a factory in College Point,
Queens, New York, and, breaking with many entrepreneurs of
his time, worked to create an environment beneficial to the
immigrant community, which included schools;
Whereas the Poppenhusen Institute was established in 1868
with a $100,000 donation;
Whereas the Poppenhusen Institute was to serve the
fundamental educational needs of the community and began as a
free adult evening school for the residents of Flushing Town;
Whereas in 1870, the Poppenhusen Institute's services
expanded to serve as the first free, public kindergarten in
the United States for the children of Mr. Poppenhusen's
factory and the community;
Whereas children who attend a high-quality kindergarten
demonstrate higher levels of reading and mathematics
knowledge and skills than those who do not attend
kindergarten;
Whereas a number of studies, including studies commissioned
by the Department of Education, demonstrate that children
enrolled in kindergarten more rapidly acquire the knowledge
and skills integral to succeed in school and life;
Whereas the United States is a stronger, better place
because of the children who are able to enrich their academic
and social development through free kindergartens across the
country;
Whereas for some children, kindergarten is the first common
ground where they interact with students from a myriad of
cultural, economic, racial, and religious backgrounds to
learn about their world, each other, and themselves; and
[[Page H4363]]
Whereas universal, free, high-quality kindergarten for the
Nation's children provides benefits both to these children
and to society at large: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) the Congress commends the Poppenhusen Institute and the
College Point community for establishing the first free,
public kindergarten in the United States; and
(2) the Congress supports the strong beginnings
kindergartens across the United States provide for the
Nation's children.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Kline) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline).
General Leave
Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 47.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 47 commending
the establishment of the first free public kindergarten in the United
States. Madam Speaker, we can all agree on the merits of early
education to the academic success of America's children. From the time
that Conrad Poppenhusen offered free, public kindergarten to his
community in College Point, New York, millions of American children
have benefited from a foundational first year of school.
Kindergarten is a common experience for most American children.
Today, 98 percent of children of kindergarten age in America attend
kindergarten programs for at least half of the school day, and a
growing number of schools, today about 60 percent, now offer full-day
kindergarten programs. At age 5, the age at which most children enter
kindergarten, children's development varies greatly. Because they often
begin with a range of knowledge and skills, the kindergarten experience
can substantially reduce educational disparities and help build a
foundation for future school success.
Research demonstrates that children generally develop both cognitive
and noncognitive knowledge and skills during the kindergarten year. In
the year 2000, the National Center For Education Statistics, a research
arm of the U.S. Department of Education, published findings from a
large-scale study to evaluate the effectiveness of kindergarten. The
study showed that after a year of kindergarten, children demonstrate a
greater understanding of reading and mathematics concepts, as well as
specific knowledge and skills. By the end of the kindergarten year,
nearly all children recognized letters, numbers, and shapes, and an
increased number of children can add and subtract numbers.
Madam Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Crowley) for recognizing the importance of kindergarten
and the contribution of Conrad Poppenhusen for establishing the first
free, public American kindergarten.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise today in support of House concurrent resolution 47, which
recognizes the establishment of the first free, public kindergarten in
the United States located at College Point, Queens, New York.
I am pleased to manage the time on this legislation, which is offered
by my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Crowley) who represents College Point, Queens, here in the House of
Representatives.
The history of kindergarten in America has been colorful. Many areas
of the country can claim credit for advancing education of our youth
through kindergarten classes. From Wisconsin to Massachusetts to New
York, many folks have had a hand in developing kindergarten. However,
Queens, New York is home to the first free, public kindergarten class,
and it is proper today, Madam Speaker, that we honor that achievement.
Public kindergarten has played a meaningful role in the lives of many
Americans, including the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), the
author of this legislation, as well as me.
For many children in Missouri, in New York, and throughout the
countryside, kindergarten is the first place in which students interact
with youth from many cultural backgrounds and where they learn about
the world into which they were born. Kindergarten also reinforces and
builds reading and math skills which are important tools for our
children to have when advancing through the educational system.
The establishment of the first free, public kindergarten in College
Point, Queens, New York, has made our Nation stronger.
I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), and I thank the
House for considering this bill today.
Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, today the House considers H. Con. Res. 47,
Commending the Establishment in College Point, New York, of the First
Kindergarten in the United States.
The resolution honors the first free Kindergarten established in the
United States in 1870 by Conrad Poppenhusen. I would like to note for
the record that Margarethe Meyer Schurz--wife of Carl Schurz--opened
the first Kindergarten in the United States in Watertown, Wisconsin in
1856.
The following is an article from the August 19, 1998 Capital Times
(Madison, WI) detailing the work of Margarethe Schurz that led to the
first U.S. Kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin.
[From the Capital Times, Aug. 19, 1998]
Aug. 27, 1832: 1st Kindergarten Sprouts; Schurz Wanted the Best
Education for Her Daughter
(By Kathy Maeglin)
As a young mother in Watertown in 1856, Margarethe Schurz
wanted her little daughter to have the educational advantages
she would have had back in their native Germany.
So Margarethe invited four little cousins to come to the
house each day for games, singing and crafts. She had been an
early student of the ``kindergarten'' movement in Germany,
and now she was employing what she had learned in her own
frontier home.
As word of Margarethe's ``class'' spread, friends
petitioned her to let their own children join in. The group
moved to a more convenient location downtown, and thus the
first kindergarten in America was created.
As Hannah Werwath Swart wrote in her biography ``Margarethe
Meyer Schurz,'' Margarethe's background likely would have led
her to establish the first American kindergarten even if she
had not had any children of her own.
Margarethe Meyer was born on Aug. 27, 1832, to a wealthy
merchant family in Hamburg, Germany.
In 1850, when she was a teenager, her older sister Bertha
became involved in a Jewish-Christian women's group that had
decided to focus on training young children as a way to
promote idealism and understanding among all people.
The group invited Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel, the man
who created the first kindergarten in 1840, to come to
Hamburg to help them establish one there. Margarethe listened
to Froebel's lectures for two years, thereby gaining the
knowledge and inspiration that would motivate her later in
life.
When she was 19, she moved to London to run a kindergarten
that had been established there by her sister Bertha. It was
there that she met Carl Schurz, a German revolutionary who
had fled his native country.
Carl Schurz was determined to migrate to America, where he
could have the free citizenship he so desired and where much
of his family had already gone. So after their marriage, the
two idealistic young Germans set sail for America.
After living in Philadelphia for a few years, the couple
eventually settled in Watertown, which at the time was the
second largest city in Wisconsin.
It was shortly after they arrived in Watertown that
Margarethe started the activities that would result in the
kindergarten (which is German for ``children's garden'').
But Watertown did not turn out to be the major railroad
center that Carl had hoped when he chose to settle there. So
Carl made the most of his speaking skills and passion for
politics, and he ended up serving as a minister to Spain, a
general in the Civil War and finally a U.S. senator from
Missouri.
Since her husband's career took her away from Wisconsin,
Margarethe entrusted the continuation of her kindergarten to
Carl's cousin, Miss Juessen.
Others took over the school in later years and it continued
until World War I, when it was closed because the teacher
refused to teach in any language other than German, which had
become unpopular.
Margarethe Schurz died at the age of 43 on March 15, 1876,
in Washington, D.C. But her legacy lives on in schools
throughout the country as young minds are cultivated in
kindergartens, which Margarethe once described as gardens
``whose plants are human.''
Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the
Resolution H.
[[Page H4364]]
Con. Res. 47, which recognizes the establishment of the first, free
public kindergarten in the United States, located in College Point,
Queens, New York.
As a native of Queens, I grew up learning about the history of this
community, which includes the creation of the first free public
kindergarten in the United States.
The community of College Point, just a stone's throw from LaGuardia
Airport, Shay Stadium--home of the Mets--and Flushing Meadows-Corona
Park--the home of the U.S. Open Tennis tournament--this community was
one of the first seeds in the creation of public education in America.
Something that represents the Great Equalizer in American society.
It all started in 1854, when Conrad Poppenhusen, a businessman from
Germany, built a factory in College Point.
There, he stressed an environment in which his immigrant workers
could educate themselves in order to succeed financially, socially,
and, most significantly, intellectually.
Just as Henry Ford paid his employees high wages so they, in turn,
could purchase his cars, Conrad Poppenhusen represented another
industrial genius--that if educating his workforce to make them and
their families more successful people in the community.
Fourteen years later, in 1868, Mr. Poppenhusen continued his
illustrious educational work by donating $100,000 and establishing the
Poppenhusen Institute.
His Institute sustained his original educational mission and expanded
on it, by promoting the education of all adults from the greater
community--not just his employees.
In 1870, the Poppenhusen Institute once again expanded its
educational services to include the first, free, public kindergarten in
the United States, a seminal moment in American education and something
we celebrate today with this resolution.
The history of kindergarten has been a colorful one in America . . .
and one that is big enough for all of us to share, recognize, and honor
today.
My friends from Wisconsin will happily point out that the first
kindergarten in the United States was based in Watertown, Wisconsin and
was founded in 1856 by Margarethe Meyer Schurz.
This private, German-language kindergarten represented a landmark in
the educational development of young Americans and we all salute her
accomplishments.
Additionally, any debate on the history of kindergarten would be
incomplete without reference to the works of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody,
a Massachusetts educator who opened the first English-language
kindergarten in the United States in 1860.
When she opened her kindergarten in 1860, the concept of providing
formal schooling for children younger than six was largely confined to
German practice.
These educational pioneers led to the creation, by Conrad
Poppenhusen, of the Nation's first, free public kindergarten--a
sweeping educational development and a strong basis for the
kindergartens we all know and recognize in our country today.
It has always been known that education is the Great American
Equalizer--the first step in young Americans lives to live the American
Dream.
The actions of Conrad Poppenhusen and his revolutionary
kindergarten--the first kindergarten free and open to all, helped
engrain the idea of free and public kindergartens throughout our great
Nation--opening up the ideals of the American Dream to tens of millions
of Americans since then.
The American Dream of using education as a foundation for supporting
oneself, one's family. The American Dream of using education as a
foundation for a good job, home ownership, and a brighter future
overall.
This important moment, when this kindergarten opened in 1870 in
College Point, Queens, NY, is all the more profound today, as
Department of Education studies show the impact of kindergarten on the
children that attend.
Children who are enrolled in kindergarten benefit immensely from the
knowledge and skills they learn, while simultaneously profiting from
their interaction with children of a similar age.
The reading and math skills, which students learn in kindergarten,
are invaluable to a child's later education.
Moreover, for many children, kindergarten is one of the first places
in which they interact with students from a multitude of cultural,
economic, racial, and religious backgrounds. These early interactions
are pivotal in establishing relationships, which promote awareness of
the importance of numerous cultures and ideas, something particularly
important in Queens, New York, which is seen as one of the most diverse
areas of the country.
The effort that began in College Point today remains a significant
feature of our education system.
One of the greatest aspects of our nation is that through education,
which often starts in kindergarten, each successive generation of
children can succeed.
Quite simply, the establishment of the first free, public
kindergarten in College Point has made our nation a stronger, better
place for generations.
I want to close by recognizing the continued importance of the
Poppenhusen Institute and those who serve it. This notable list extends
from the first days of class to the work that persists. This list must
include the first teacher, Bertha Ploedterl, all the way to Susan
Brustmann, the current Executive Director, and James Trent, the
President of the Board of Directors.
Today, the work of these individuals and this community has resulted
in activities, exhibits, and programs for people of all ages. Programs
cover the fields of music, drama, karate, stress reduction.
There are exhibits, such as one on the tragic events of September
11th as well as another on Native Americans.
Individuals can take tours reviewing the archives of College Point to
learn, not only about the history of this community, but about our
shared American history, in this area, one of the most diverse and
welcoming in the world.
Additionally, the Institute collects the living histories of area
seniors, so that they are documented for future generations.
While the earliest days of this kindergarten will be remembered for
being truly significant to New York and our nation, the true testament
to the significance of this Institute is in the proud legacy that
continues to live on through its works.
Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. KLINE. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 47, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as
amended, was agreed to.
The title of the concurrent resolution was amended so as to read: ``A
concurrent resolution commending the establishment in College Point,
New York, of the first free, public kindergarten in the United
States.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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