[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 490]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING MR. HENRY BROWN, BROWARD COUNTY'S TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND 
              STATE OF FLORIDA'S TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2002

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 4, 2002

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to 
honor Mr. Henry Brown, Broward County's Teacher of the Year 2002 and 
the State of Florida's Teacher of the Year 2002, being named a finalist 
for the National Teacher of the Year Award.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Brown is one of only four teachers from around the 
United States named as a finalist for the title of the nation's top 
teacher! This is the first time in Broward's history--and only the 
seventh time for the State--that a Florida teacher has made it to the 
national level.
  Considered an at-risk student when he was in elementary school, Mr. 
Brown experienced many of the same problems today's students face. It 
wasn't until the day when a teacher saw a spark in young Henry and took 
an interest that he turned his life around.
  Because Mr. Brown has ``been there, done that,'' he understands how 
to connect with students. It's his ability to reach students and 
provide a rich learning environment that makes Mr. Brown an outstanding 
choice for National Teacher of the Year 2002.
  Mr. Brown's career began eight years ago as a mathematics teacher at 
Hallandale Adult/Community Center. Over the years, Mr. Brown has 
learned that the best way to reach students is to give them a sense of 
industry rather than a sense of inferiority.
  Having a classroom filled with students facing a wide variety of 
challenges, Mr. Brown learned early on that he needed different ways of 
teaching different students. Some of the ``real world'' activities he 
uses include resume writing, practicing interviewing skills and 
calculating sales tax and sales prices using newspaper ads. His 
approach has proven successful, with his students increasing 
standardized test scores by an average of 22 percent.
  Mr. Speaker, one thing is clear. Mr. Brown is a shining example that 
no student is a lost cause and that every student can learn and turn 
their lives around, given the opportunity. All it takes is a good 
teacher to see a spark and nurture it until it becomes a fire.

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