[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       IN RECOGNITION OF 2007 NATIONAL TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2007

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, National Teacher Appreciation Day 
provides us with a special opportunity to reflect on the importance of 
the teacher in our society and to note with deep appreciation the 
incalculable contribution that teachers have made to the educational 
and personal development of our citizenry.
  It has been said that half of us is what we make of ourselves and the 
other half is made by others. There can be little doubt that ``the rest 
of us'' is profoundly and powerfully influenced by our teachers. 
Teachers affect our lives in significant ways--they guide our 
acquisition of knowledge, they facilitate our personal growth and they 
stimulate the development of our personalities and our imaginations. In 
short, they inspire us to be our greater selves.
  Our greatest and most successful citizens and achievers have been 
molded and encouraged by their teachers. Conversely, where there is a 
failure to educate and inspire--where our young people don't have the 
guidance of good teachers--the consequences are clear, both in the 
short and long term.
  In the United States today, our teachers hold the fortunes and 
futures of millions of children and young persons and, by extension, 
the fortune and future of our Nation as a whole. I am especially aware 
of this fact as a member of the Education and Labor Committee which is 
charged with examining the issues for reauthorization of the No Child 
Left Behind Act. As the 110th Congress moves toward reauthorizing this 
legislation, we have sought to involve the teachers at every stage in 
the development of the plan. Second to our children, our Nation's 
teachers are the most important stakeholders in the future of NCLB.
  As we observe National Teacher Appreciation Week, 2007, I would like 
to congratulate all teachers for continuing to give their best in the 
noble task of educating the children of our Nation.

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