[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[April 25, 1991]
[Pages 427-429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the United States Academic Decathlon Winners
April 25, 1991

    The President. Please be seated. Thank you. What a day. I was going 
to apologize for keeping you waiting, but now I think I'll take credit 
for giving you the time in the sun here. [Laughter] It is beautiful, and 
we are just delighted to have you all here. I want to especially 
recognize this gentleman in the front row, Ted Sanders, who's doing such 
a wonderful job at our Department of Education; Bob Suarez of the U.S. 
Academic Decathlon; and the teams from DC's Benjamin Banneker High 
School and Alexandria, Virginia's Thomas Jefferson High School of 
Science and Technology.
    And of course, welcome to our newest American heroes, the 1991 
Academic Decathlon champs--the team's from J.J. Pearce High School in 
Richardson, Texas. We're proud of you, and I think America is proud of 
you.
    I was looking over some of the questions you tackled, like: ``The 
Earth's magnetic field is compressed on the sun-facing side by what?'' 
Well--[laughter]--the kids behind me know, but for the media out there, 
the answer is: solar wind. [Laughter] You guys remember that.
    All I can say is, I wouldn't have made it past the round where they 
asked me to spell ``broccoli.'' [Laughter]
    But congratulations to Kevin, Dardy, Eugene, Misty, Christine, 
Craig, Wade, Amie, and Frank, and coaches Dorcas and Linda--the Norman 
Schwarzkopfs of Pearce High. [Laughter] That's what we refer to you as 
around here. [Laughter] You've done something remarkable. This year's 
contest began with more than 35,000

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students at 3,500 high schools coast to coast, and now it's just you.
    I must admit, it stirs my Texas pride a little to hear that in this 
national competition's 10-year history, your school has won five times. 
And I wish our son's Texas Rangers might be achieving the same kind of 
record in their field.
    But I want to tell every one of the 35,000 across the Nation, 
seriously, what you've done for this country. You've shown great things 
can be achieved by commitment, by perseverance, hard work, and teamwork.
    And there's something I really like about the decathlon, something 
I'm going to tell my grandkids about. This isn't about being the 
smartest kid in your class; after all, each of them is evenly divided 
among A, B, and C students. The lesson, rather, of the Academic 
Decathlon is something each of us needs to take through life. It's about 
learning to be the best you can.
    All right, I have a question: What do you have in common with Bruce 
Jenner, Rafer Johnson, and Jim Thorpe? All----
    Student. ----wearing gold medals.
    The President. That's it. [Laughter] All winning. All winners. All 
winning decathletes and the ones who mastered the ultimate test of the 
athlete and the student. You've shown your peers that it's as exciting 
to root for an academic team as an athletic one. And that it takes 
skill, stamina, and mental and emotional intensity to achieve in the 
classroom as well as in the stadium. And by doing that, you give them a 
priceless gift: the belief in their ability to reach out and shape their 
own futures.
    Last week, along with the Secretaries from the Department of 
Education--Secretary Sanders was there and Secretary Alexander, our new 
Secretary--I unveiled America 2000, our long-range strategy for 
educational excellence. It is ambitious. And it is far-reaching and 
absolutely essential. There's a new century coming, one with unlimited 
horizons. And our goal must be to make sure that our children enter this 
new world equipped with the skills that will let them dream dreams and 
know that they can make them come true. America 2000 is a challenge 
posed to each of us, to literally reinvent American education, to reach 
deep within us to find answers, so that our kids can reach out to find 
the stars.
    And that's why I'm so proud of you as messengers of this idea. Your 
lives and your accomplishments speak to other kids the way no words from 
a government or even a teacher can. These kids look at each of you and 
they see themselves. They look at you and they see what they, too, can 
become. And that's what a new kind of a hero is, a new generation of 
heroes, with the good values you learn from disciplined determination, 
the sharp mind that's not wasted on drugs, the confidence and pride that 
come from stretching yourself, proving yourself. You're the ones who 
will help our America 2000 dream come true.
    You have some pretty impressive partners, too, who will also have a 
big role to play in reaching our education goals--private businesses. 
For instance, in this year's decathlon, there was the local foundation 
in Hawaii which bought sweaters for its team to wear in competition, the 
Toastmasters Club which trained students for the speech segment, the 
companies that sent in experts from within their ranks to tutor the team 
members, and the major national corporations that underwrote 
scholarships for the winners.
    These businesses believe that each of us can play a pivotal role in 
our kids' educational future. This amazing bond between industry and 
individual is the keystone of the American spirit. That spirit is the 
basis of the decathlon. And it's exactly what we must bring to America 
2000. You've proven--and now we'll all act to continue to prove--that 
together we can do great things, great things that will help inspire 
others, great things like what's been done at the decathlon by kids like 
DC's Banneker High's Che-Wah Lee. Che-Wah Lee won the speech gold medal 
telling how his parents fled China so their children could know the 
American dream. Great things done by kids like Christine Liu here at 
Pearce High, the overall top student in the entire competition; by kids 
like Fred Klug, winner of the decathlon's 1990 Caperton Award for 
dedication to learning in the face of major obstacles. Fred is 
permanently paralyzed, and scored 100 percent on the Super Quiz.

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    And there are great things being done by teams like Thomas Jefferson 
High School of Science and Technology in Alexandria, Rookie of the Year 
winner. Teams like Whitney Young Magnet High School in inner-city 
Chicago, which won this year's bronze medal and became the model for 
other large urban schools. Teams like Tennessee's Jackson Christian 
School, State winner although it has just 100 kids in the whole school.
    Abraham Lincoln said, ``I will study and prepare myself, and someday 
my chance will come.'' You've done just that. And you've inspired your 
countrymen to do just that.
    Thank you, and congratulations. And may God bless you in the 
exciting futures out there ahead of you. Thank you very, very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 11:37 a.m. in the Rose 
                        Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Ted Sanders, Under Secretary of 
                        Education; Bob Suarez, vice president of the 
                        U.S. Academic Decathlon; J.J. Pearce High School 
                        team members Kevin Barenbalt, Dardy Chang, 
                        Eugene Chen, Misty Karin, Christine Liu, Craig 
                        Macaulay, Wade McIntyre, Amie vonBriesen, and 
                        Frank Wilde, and coaches Dorcas Helmes and Linda 
                        Berger; Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of 
                        the U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf; Olympic 
                        athletes Bruce Jenner, Rafer Johnson, and Jim 
                        Thorpe; Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander; 
                        and Academic Decathlon participants Che-Wah Lee 
                        and Fred Klug.