[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 82 (Monday, June 20, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6812-S6813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I salute today the students who 
participated in the National History Day national contest that was held 
last week at the University of Maryland. More than 700,000 students in 
grades 6 through 12 from all over the country chose topics, researched, 
and presented their projects at State and local competitions this year. 
I am proud that 52 students from Tennessee made it to Washington. I 
especially want to recognize two of those students, Daniel Jordan and 
Tyler Sexton, eighth graders at St. John Neumann School in Knoxville.
  Their National History Day project is a documentary on Sequoyah's 
Syllabary, which they presented at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 
Sequoyah was a Cherokee warrior who was born in east Tennessee and 
created a syllabary, which is often called the Cherokee alphabet. He 
was born in 1776 in the village of Tuskeegee, which was very near 
Vonore, TN, where the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum is located.
  Daniel and Tyler say the seed for their documentary was planted 
during a visit to the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. The two boys got 
tired and decided to sit on several bales of hay in the center of a 
field. After a few minutes, two Cherokee approached the boys and 
explained that they were sitting on a holy prayer circle. The boys 
apologized profusely and removed themselves, but not before they 
learned

[[Page S6813]]

more from Star Medicine Woman and Elk Dreamer about the Cherokee 
Indians, especially Sequoyah and the relation to present-day culture. 
The boys were fascinated and appreciated the kindness shown to them.
  Along with congratulating these outstanding students, I also 
recognize their teacher, Judy Buscetta, who is the winner of the 
National History Day in Tennessee's Teacher of the Year award. Daniel 
said it best in a letter he wrote to me to let me know he was going to 
be in Washington. He said: Without good teachers, we do not have a 
chance.
  I am proud of Judy and Daniel and Tyler. Students and teachers like 
them are who I had in mind when I introduced legislation along with the 
distinguished minority leader to put the teaching of American history 
and civics back into our classrooms, so our children grow up learning 
what it means to be an American. I am proud that the Presidential 
academies for teachers and congressional academies for students in 
American history and civics through the Department of Education are 
beginning this summer as a result of Congress passing and the President 
signing that bill into law.
  I have also introduced legislation with Senator Edward Kennedy of 
Massachusetts to create a 10-State pilot study to provide State-by-
State comparisons of U.S. history and civics test data for 8th and 12th 
grades administered through the National Assessment of Educational 
Progress, NAEP, to assess and improve knowledge of American history.
  I appreciate National History Day and its commitment to improving the 
teaching and learning of American history in our schools. I also 
appreciate Daniel, Tyler and Judy, fellow Tennesseans, who are working 
to keep history alive.

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