[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 188 (Tuesday, October 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JUSTIN MITCHELL

 Mr. PAUL. Madam President, we are all indebted to the special 
teachers we encountered during our formal education: those who made a 
subject come alive for us--perhaps for the very first time--and sparked 
a lifelong interest in a subject or in a field of study. Today, I want 
to recognize a Kentucky teacher who is doing just that: bringing 
history and civics education to life for students at Franklin-Simpson 
Middle School in Franklin, KY.
  How many students are truly interested in history and civics in the 
seventh or eighth grade? But motivating his students to move beyond 
memorizing facts and dates is exactly what Justin Mitchell is known 
for. Ask his colleagues--or visit his social media sites--and you will 
find that he is wildly creative in his mission to make social studies 
education interesting, challenging, and relevant.
  Justin Mitchell earned degrees in social studies and history at 
Western Kentucky University--in my hometown of Bowling Green--and is 
now a doctoral candidate there. He is a McConnell scholar who regularly 
participates in the McConnell Center's Civics Education Program, and he 
deploys his leadership skills outside of the classroom by mentoring 
students at his church.
  While his fellow teachers, students, and their families have known 
for years that Justin is an exceptional teacher, this year, he was 
recognized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History as 
Kentucky's History Teacher of the Year. I am pleased to congratulate 
Justin on this accomplishment, to thank him for the impact that he is 
making on his students, and to create this permanent tribute to him in 
the Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate.

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