[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4101-S4102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LINDA NELSON

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, there is an old saying that no 
exercise is better for the human heart than reaching down to lift up a 
child. Whenever I think about Linda Nelson, that saying comes to mind 
because she had devoted her life to nurturing and educating and lifting 
up children.
  Likewise, for the past 4 years, as president of the Iowa State 
Education Association, Linda Nelson has devoted herself to lifting up 
the teaching profession in the State of Iowa. She has fought for better 
pay and professional development, for more generous funding for public 
education, and for commonsense reforms to the No Child Left Behind Act. 
She has done an exceptional job for Iowa's teachers and education 
support professionals. However, I know that she is looking forward to 
returning next fall to her real love, which is the classroom at Carter 
Lake Elementary School and the students she has missed so much.
  Linda Nelson has led and served ISEA with true distinction. Under her 
leadership, membership has increased and local associations have been 
strengthened. She tirelessly crisscrossed the State of Iowa to visit 
schools and to consult with teachers and support professionals. I am 
told that she has been away from home so much that her cats no longer 
recognize her.
  Mr. President, I have always loved what Lee Iacocca said about 
teachers. ``In a completely rational society,'' he said, ``the best of 
us would be teachers, and the rest would have to settle for something 
less.'' Fortunately, in Iowa, so many of our best do go into teaching. 
And Linda is one of those truly outstanding classroom professionals.
  She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and has 
taught for more than 30 years. She has been an active member of ISEA 
throughout her career. She has held leadership positions at the local, 
State, regional, and national levels. In 1992, the National Education 
Association recognized her outstanding contributions to public 
education with the Charles F. Martin Award.

[[Page S4102]]

  As I said, Linda's first love is the classroom. But she is committed 
to securing a quality education for every child, not just those in her 
classroom, and this has led her to activism in the broader public and 
political arenas. She was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives 
in 1992 and served for 4 years as an outspoken champion of quality 
public schools for all of Iowa's children.
  As a teacher, Linda Nelson is a consummate professional, and she 
speaks with that special authority that can only come from decades of 
classroom experience. She has been an association president, a mentor, 
a leader, a legislator. But of the many titles she has worn during her 
long and distinguished career, she prizes none more highly than the 
simple title of ``teacher.''
  Linda Nelson is one of the many reasons why Iowa public schools are 
among the most respected and highest achieving in the Nation. We are 
blessed with an extraordinary cadre of talented teachers, and this is a 
real point of pride among Iowans. We honor our teachers. We are 
grateful for their keen minds and generous hearts. We appreciate the 
long hours they devote to their work--their service above and beyond 
the call of duty.
  Linda Nelson has made a very real difference for the good as 
president of the Iowa State Education Association. As she returns to 
Carter Lake, I join with educators across Iowa in thanking Linda for 
her service, and wishing her the very best in the years ahead.

                          ____________________