[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8366-8367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL TEACHERS DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 1999, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) is recognized 
for 60 minutes.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure on behalf of my colleagues 
today to recognize National Teachers Day and National Teacher 
Appreciation Week. We know the old bumper sticker that reads, ``If you 
can read this, thank a teacher.'' Well, tonight I would like to thank 
teachers.
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) organized this special 
order, but was unable to be here tonight because he had to attend a 
funeral. But on his behalf and my colleagues', I would like to talk a 
bit about teachers.
  According to the National PTA, the origins of National Teachers Day 
are somewhat unclear but it is known that Arkansas teacher, Mrs. Mattie 
White Woodridge began corresponding with political and educational 
leaders around 1944 about the need for a national day honoring 
teachers.
  One of the people Mrs. Woodridge wrote to was Eleanor Roosevelt who 
persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day in 1953.
  In the late 1970s, the National Education Association as well as many 
of its local affiliates persuaded Congress to create a national day 
celebrating the contributions of teachers and such a day was 
established in 1980. In 1985, the NEA and the National PTA established 
a full week of May as National Teacher Appreciation Week, and to make 
the Tuesday of that week National Teacher Appreciation Day.
  It is only right that we take a moment to honor the dedication, hard 
work, and importance of teachers in our society. As a teacher myself, I 
know that teaching is a hard and sometimes unrecognized job. But of all 
the important jobs in our society, nothing makes more of an impact on 
our children than a well-trained, caring and dedicated teacher. No job 
ultimately is more important to our society.
  Each of us has had teachers who have made marks on our lives who have 
pushed us to achieve more and challenged us to excel. While these 
teachers may not command the celebrity of a sports star, they continue 
to work every day often under difficult circumstances to guide our 
children to a better future.
  We here in Congress, on both sides of the aisle, continue to debate 
ways to improve our public schools and to boost the educational 
achievement of our young people. Experts have suggested all kinds of 
ways to strengthen our education system. But as we talk about these 
programs and policies, we may forget that one of the best ways to 
improve our education system is to show respect and support for our 
teachers.
  Teachers across our Nation are doing an outstanding job. As I have 
traveled around my central New Jersey district, I have met hundreds of 
teachers who are working hard every day to prepare students to succeed 
in this economy and it is not often easy.

                              {time}  2245

  Compared with many professionals, teachers are underpaid and 
overworked. The Education Testing Service pointed out in a recent 
report that despite the importance of the work they do, teachers still 
earn less in median weekly wages than doctors, lawyers, accountants, 
public relations professionals and even many service workers.
  Studies consistently show that teachers earn less than other 
professionals with similar educational requirements, and that is just 
not right. As long as this country continues to pay teachers less than 
it pays others, we will not get all we need. In the next decade we 
Americans must hire two million new teachers to fill vacancies and to 
keep up with student school growth, and we need the best people.
  Teachers often perform miracles in the classrooms, which too many of 
us take for granted. We forget many times teachers are called on to 
undertake other tasks in addition to teaching. Teachers today often 
have to enforce discipline and guide troubled children to the help they 
need. Our Nation can improve its education system by showing respect 
for teachers and by letting them know how much we value their work. All 
of us should take time to thank our teachers.
  Later this week, when I return home to New Jersey, I will visit a 
teacher at West Windsor Plainsboro School on Friday morning, the first 
morning I am back, and I will teach a class in physics. But we need to 
do more than simply reflect on teachers' contributions and drop in 
occasionally. We need to undertake policies that will make their jobs 
easier. We need to work together to find ways to support teachers, to 
help them continue to grow professionally, to help our school districts 
hire more qualified teachers, to help

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our school districts modernize and update their classrooms with 
technology. That is how we thank our teachers. That is how we show 
respect for our teachers. That is how we show respect for our children.

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