[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8329]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

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                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 4, 2004

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise one of the most 
under appreciated professions in our society: teachers. In doing so, I 
would like to offer my sincere gratitude for their often thankless, but 
noble efforts.
  To quote Cicero, ``What nobler a profession, or more valuable to the 
state, than that of a man who instructs the rising generation.'' 
Teachers, next to parents, are the most influential people in the lives 
of our children. Like parents, they prepare students for the future. 
Teachers serve as role models, mentors and friends. They strive to work 
with parents and guardians so that the full potential of each child may 
be realized.
  Mr. Speaker, teaching has never been an easy job, and it hasn't 
gotten easier in recent years. Currently, the people to whom we entrust 
our children must teach in classes so large many of us would find it 
impossible to maintain order, let alone create an atmosphere conducive 
to learning. Many teachers must work in dilapidated buildings where 
heating, plumbing and cooling systems are insufficient. At a time when 
many of us would find it impossible to function without a computer, 
teachers are confronted with the task of preparing kids to work in an 
increasingly technological society without the use of this most basic 
piece of equipment. Not only do teachers deserve our thanks, they also 
deserve access to the best tools possible. Our nation's future is, 
after all, in their hands.
  The Bush Administration introduced the No Child Left Behind Act with 
the promise of reforming and improving education in our country. My 
colleagues have claimed that ``education reform costs money, and this 
Administration is willing to spend it.'' However, this has proven to be 
yet another empty promise. This Administration has been unwilling to 
fund their own education bill, providing $9.4 billion less for 
education reform next year than was promised in the No Child Left 
Behind Act. Rather than fund their education program, the Republican 
budget has found room for over a trillion dollars in tax cuts for their 
fat cat friends.
  Furthermore, the proposed Republican budget provides only $2.9 
billion for teacher quality programs, $234 million less than what the 
No Child Left Behind Act authorized. This means 56,000 teachers will 
not receive the extra training they need. Cutting extra training for 
our teachers not only hurts the quality of our education, but also 
hurts our ability to recruit and retain these teachers.
  Mr. Speaker, under-funding education not only affects our children, 
it affects working families. To compensate for the loss in funding, 
local communities have been forced to raise taxes to pay for textbooks 
and teacher's salaries. Budget cuts have also resulted in more than two 
million children failing to receive tutoring in reading and math and 
more than one million children being denied access to after-school 
programs.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Speaker, not only 
under-fund education, they attack our public school teachers. In fact, 
Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige called the National 
Education Association a ``terrorist organization'', arguing that the 
NEA was against school standards and accountability. Instead of 
fostering resentment, this Administration needs to promote unity; 
education needs to be a cooperative, nonpartisan effort and we need to 
honor teachers, not demonize them.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that many of my colleagues and 
our nation's governors, acting either in haste, desperation or 
philosophical zeal, have continually tried to undermine real education 
reform by grasping at ``revolutionary schemes'' such as vouchers, which 
have proved to be destructive to public schools as well as ineffective 
in raising student performance. They have attempted to privatize public 
schools, where 90 percent of America's children are educated. In an 
attempt to highlight the problems faced by public schools, they have 
used teachers and schools alike as punching bags to further their own 
risky, underhanded schemes that only divert education money away from 
where it's most needed. I stand before you today to say we should not 
tolerate this rascality any longer. Our teachers, our kids and our 
nation's future deserve better.
  Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that we can work together, write quality 
legislation, help our schools and thank our teachers for their efforts 
by showing them we know how important educating our children--and their 
role in this mission--is to America's future.

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