[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[April 10, 1991]
[Pages 353-355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the National Teacher of the 
Year Award in Slanesville, West Virginia
April 10, 1991

    The President. Well, please be seated. Kids, it's great to be with 
you. And you ought to be very happy that I'm here because you don't have 
to be in school working hard, you see. [Laughter] To all those who 
handled the arrangements for a complex visit like this, let me at the 
very beginning express my sincere thanks to you, and we promise to leave 
right on time so things can get back to normal in this beautiful part of 
our country.
    I want to thank Secretary Alexander for his remarks, for his kind 
words. Thank all of you for this West Virginia welcome. It's good to see 
the Governor of this State here, a friend of education, Governor 
Caperton, who you met earlier.
    I'm told that a former Member of Congress, Harley Staggers, is here. 
I'm not focusing too well from up here, but if he--they're pointing out 
here. But anyway--way back over there. But Harley, nice to see you, 
sir--a man that served his State with great distinction. I want to 
single out Commissioner Benedict and Superintendent Marockie; John Quam, 
the director of the National Teacher of the Year program; and of course, 
your own principal--and now that I feel a part of this school, our own 
principal--Gary Kidwell.
    Let me say that I'm especially pleased, on this whole broad national 
education front, to be side-by-side with Lamar Alexander--a former 
Governor, a man that is committed, a former head of a great university 
system, now our Secretary of Education--a man who has made it his 
mission, his sacred mission, to join with the teachers of this school 
and others all across this country to make America's schools second to 
none. And very soon, back in Washington, we are going to unveil our 
national education strategy. It's a long-term strategy to make America 
all that it can be, to spark a nationwide movement that touches every 
school and every student in America.
    But today I want to focus on the fact that, in the end, everything 
we try to do in education comes down to teaching and learning, to each 
teacher and each student in our classrooms. There's no better way to 
make that point than to come here to honor someone Slanesville knows so 
well, the 1991 National Teacher of the Year, Rae Ellen McKee.
    You know, the last time I went to a

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school, it was just a few miles away from the White House, and I had a 
third-grade kid, a boy, ask me to prove that I was the President. 
[Laughter] I finally showed him my American Express card. [Laughter] And 
this time I came prepared, though. I brought the Secretary of Education 
so there can be no doubt. And then I flew down here on Marine One. And 
third, when we're done here, just to prove it, I'm going to take Mrs. 
McKee back up to the White House with me.
    I heard a story about one of Mrs. McKee's reading students--I don't 
know if it's true or not--about a boy who'd been watching me almost 
every day on television, back during the troubled days of the war in the 
Gulf, making speeches, making statements to the press. And the boy 
allegedly asked Mrs. McKee, ``Are you really going to Washington to meet 
the President?'' And she said yes, she was. And he said, ``He doesn't 
need you. [Laughter] He can already read.'' [Laughter] Well, that really 
says it all. [Laughter]
    But this is a proud day: for Rae Ellen's parents; for her husband, 
John McKee, and their children, Zachary and Molly, a second-grader with 
whom I just met; and for all the children in this elementary school; and 
for every hard-working teacher in America who sees the future and shapes 
that future every single day that our children walk into the classrooms.
    Being here today reminds me a little of my own days in school, all 
the way back to 1941. That was high school level for me. I remember my 
high school history teacher, Dr. Arthur Darling. He was demanding, he 
was disciplined, and I learned from him. I don't know how much I 
remember the dates and times and places. I don't know how much I 
remember of the history that he taught me. But I know I won't ever 
forget his example. Years from now, in exactly that same vein, many of 
the kids here--all of them, in my view--will remember Mrs. McKee the 
same way.
    Our National Teacher of the Year grew up in Levels, just 10 miles 
from here. Rae Ellen McKee is West Virginia born and bred. It's in her 
soul. She comes from a family of teachers--five generations, to be 
exact. And she's still a student herself, working now on a second 
master's degree in education at West Virginia University, proof that 
learning is a lifelong process.
    Rae Ellen McKee knows that teaching is more than giving tests and 
assigning grades. Teaching, she says, is the ``impact of mind upon mind, 
and heart upon heart.''
    There are plenty of schools bigger than Slanesville's, plenty of 
towns with more people. But in this small school, great things happen. 
Every day, these children, your children, take another wonderful step 
forward, toward their future. And that's a testament to this teacher and 
to this school. And above all, it's a testament to the strength of this 
community and its values. Our children learn from all of us, not just 
from the teachers. And what happens at home and in the neighborhood 
matters just as much as what takes place in the classroom.
    I know that many of the kids here today learned to read with Mrs. 
McKee's help. And I've just spent a little time with some of you all in 
the classroom, asking questions and watching you learn. So, let me ask a 
question: How many of you have ever read a story or a book that's been 
made into a movie? Quite a few. And then you watch the movie and you say 
to yourself, the book was better. When you read, the power of your 
imagination paints the picture in your mind, and there isn't anything in 
the world stronger than the power of your imagination. And that's why 
reading is so important. It's more than picking out the words on a page. 
Reading is one way we learn how to think. And when you open a book, you 
open your mind to a world of experience. Right here in a classroom in 
West Virginia, the world comes to you.
    And let me say to all the kids here today: I hope you won't mind 
that we're going to borrow Mrs. McKee. For the next year, as Teacher of 
the Year, she's going to travel across this great country of ours to 
share with all our schools the secrets of her success right here in 
Slanesville. We need to learn from her how we can teach all kids just as 
well as she's taught you.
    And pretty soon, you'll be back in class. And I'm going to ask you 
to do something for me, today and every day: Work hard,

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ask questions, have fun, and learn. That's what school is all about.
    And once again, I want to thank you for this warm welcome, for a 
chance to spend some time with you in the classroom, and for the 
opportunity to share this proud moment for Slanesville.
    And now I am honored to present this crystal apple--an apple for the 
teacher--to the 1991 Teacher of the Year, Rae Ellen McKee.
    Mrs. McKee. Mr. President, I thank you on behalf of the teachers of 
America. Your being here today is an honor that most of us never dreamed 
we would have. And as important as this day will always be to me and to 
my colleagues in the teaching ranks, I think it is even more special 
because you have once again demonstrated your commitment to the young 
people of America. And at this time, I thank you on their behalf.

                    Note: The President spoke at 10:01 a.m. on the 
                        grounds of Slanesville Elementary School. In his 
                        remarks, he referred to Secretary of Education 
                        Lamar Alexander, former Governor of Tennessee; 
                        Gov. Gaston Caperton of West Virginia; former 
                        Representative Harley D. Staggers, Jr.; Cleve 
                        Benedict, State agriculture commissioner; Henry 
                        R. Marockie, State superintendent of schools; 
                        John Quam, project director of the National 
                        Teacher of the Year program for the Council of 
                        Chief State School Officers; and Gary Kidwell 
                        and Rae Ellen McKee, principal and reading 
                        teacher at Slanesville Elementary School. 
                        Following his remarks, the President returned to 
                        Washington, DC.