[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 23793]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       HONORING KATIE KOCH-LAVEEN, MINNESOTA TEACHER OF THE YEAR

 Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, the following speech was given 
recently to honor the Minnesota Teacher of the Year. I believe it is 
important that my colleagues become aware of Ms. Koch-Laveen's 
accomplishment, and ask to print in the Record my comments to her as 
she was honored for the information of my fellow Senators.
  The speech follows:

  October 18, 2000 Statement of Senator Rod Grams Honoring Minnesota 
 Teacher of the Year, Katie Koch-Laveen, at Apple Valley High School, 
                        Apple Valley, Minnesota

       I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to honor Ms. 
     Katherine Koch-Laveen as Minnesota's Teacher of the Year for 
     the year 2000. This is certainly a high honor, as I note that 
     98 Minnesota educators were nominated for this award, and 
     their accomplishments were reviewed by 18 judges. It is all 
     the more impressive considering Minnesota's public schools 
     reputation for academic excellence. I also commend the 98 
     nominees for this honor, 28 of whom were chosen as ``teachers 
     of excellence,'' and 10 of whom were further chosen for an 
     ``honor roll'' of teachers. School teachers that excel at 
     their craft are critically important to the intellectual 
     development of their students, and help shape the student's 
     vision for what they can accomplish in their lives.
       I still can vividly remember the excellent educators that 
     taught me at Zion Lutheran Christian Day School in Crown. 
     Excellent teachers motivate, show enthusiasm for inquiry, and 
     instill in their students a passion for learning that often 
     continues for a lifetime. A great educator gives the student 
     a core foundation of knowledge about a subject, and a 
     curiosity about the topic that drives a student to study and 
     research more extensively long after they have left that 
     particular class.
       Great teachers also make sacrifices for their students. 
     It's no secret that in today's high-tech, knowledge-based 
     economy, Ms. Koch-Laveen could probably find a more 
     financially rewarding profession, especially with her science 
     background. And our great teachers need to be rewarded 
     financially, so that we do not lose too many to industry. But 
     ultimately, I have to believe that what keeps them in the 
     classroom is the intangible reward of seeing their students 
     excel, and having a group of students come in to a class with 
     little knowledge about a topic and have them leave with a 
     firm grasp of core concepts, a desire to learn much more, and 
     an excitement to apply what they have learned in ``real 
     world'' situations. And I hesitate to use the term ``real 
     world,'' because these days there is probably nothing more 
     real world than a high school classroom.
       So congratulations and thank you, Ms. Koch-Laveen, for your 
     commitment to excellence and dedicated service to your 
     students, your community, and to Minnesota. Thanks also to 
     the other hardworking Apple Valley teachers here today that 
     strive for excellence in the classroom and shoulder so much 
     responsibility for Minnesota's future. It has been a pleasure 
     to be here.

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