[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[June 3, 1991]
[Pages 599-601]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the National Education Goals Panel
June 3, 1991

    Well, thank you very much, Governor Romer. And what I really wanted 
to do is to come over and join my colleagues from the Department of 
Education--particularly our Secretary--in thanking this busy and 
distinguished group of Governors who are taking the lead on our 
educational reform.
    Roy, at the outset, thank you, sir, as chairman. And let me say, we 
are enthused over your concept of this interim council--very much so--
and delighted that you and Carroll are willing to undertake that 
commitment.
    I'm pleased to be here with the National Education Goals Panel as 
you tackle tough work on behalf of the entire country. And all of us 
feel that you're doing a great job. And I want especially to thank the 
Governors who spent so much of the past year traveling--as Roy said--
around the country and traveling to Washington to deal with this 
challenging assignment. We all owe a great debt to Governor Romer and to 
his colleagues for their important work on this panel. And so, thank you 
all very, very much.
    You know, there are only a few moments in our lives when we are 
called upon to join a crusade, and I honestly believe this is one of 
them. We have a crisis in American education, and we've simply got to do 
something about it.
    I just came from a meeting with the National Federation of 
Independent Businesses, NFIB. And I talked to them about economic 
growth--something we can't achieve without an educated, motivated work 
force. Education is vital to everything we are and everything we can 
become. But look at the facts. Eight years ago, the National Commission 
on Excellence in Education published its powerful indictment of our 
schools. And yet today, ours is still, remember, a ``nation at risk.''
    And at the same time, we remain devoted to education. If you talk to 
parents, you'll hear that nothing is more important. No nation on Earth 
believes as deeply as we do in the value and the importance of 
education. People from coast to coast have begun the hard work of 
educational reform.
    I had an inspiring day with Lamar out in Minnesota the other day. 
You could just feel their commitment to revolutionary new methods in 
this one little corner of our great country.
    The nonpartisan Federal-State--and let me emphasize that word again, 
nonpartisan--Federal-State partnership brought this issue to the 
forefront of the national agenda a couple of years ago. And we brought 
the Nation's Governors together, or they came together with us for an 
unprecedented education summit at the home of Thomas Jefferson, a true 
education President. The Governors weren't worried about their place in 
history. They came to work. And as they did, a compact emerged, one that 
rests not on flowery promises but on a challenge to raise our 
expectations and achieve concrete results.
    We resolved then to become an America of tougher standards, higher 
goals, and bigger dreams. And 5 months later, after reaching out to 
educators and parents and civic leaders, the Governors and I adopted six 
national education goals for the year 2000. This audience is familiar 
with them, but let me click them off: readiness for school; school 
completion; student achieve-

[[Page 600]]

ment and citizenship; science and math supremacy; adult literacy and 
lifetime learning; and safe, drug-free schools.
    And these goals were in our minds as we developed one of the 
administration's most exciting initiatives, a comprehensive educational 
reform challenge known as America 2000. America 2000 calls for a 
revolution in American education. It challenges all Americans to raise 
expectations, to pledge genuine accountability, and above all, to create 
a new generation of American schools. It sets out to transform a nation 
at risk into a nation of students. And it urges everyone to make our 
communities places where learning will happen.
    And now we're here with a team that figures prominently in the 
America 2000 game plan, the National Education Goals Panel. The panel's 
charge is to hold us accountable. It will report on the Nation's and the 
States' progress toward meeting our education goals. In meetings with 
educational experts and in regional forums across the country, this, 
again, nonpartisan panel has already launched a national dialog about 
how to measure our own educational progress.
    I know that the members were hard at work earlier today, defining 
the first education report card to the Nation. And they'll issue that 
report in September, on the second anniversary of the education summit. 
This and subsequent reports will do more than simply monitor our 
progress. They will use our new national standards. They will supply 
clear direction to our efforts. And they will help promote 
accountability and promote excellence.
    This panel's work will hold a mirror up to the Nation and force us 
to take an honest look at ourselves and at our schools. And when we look 
in that mirror, we'll see that our actions can and will make a 
difference.
    So, that's where we are right now, poised to rise to the challenge. 
But there's something else. National Assessment of Educational Progress, 
known as NAEP, is about to release a report. It will tell us what we 
already know, that we have work to do. It will show that the level of 
student performance varies widely across the country and that we're not 
measuring up.
    I want to talk directly to every parent, student, teacher, and 
administrator, and elected official in this country. When you see the 
NAEP--N-A-E-P--when you see the NAEP report, view it as evidence that we 
need high national standards to serve as an incentive for every student. 
View it as a personal call to accountability and to action. This panel 
will. It will use this assessment as its benchmark, a reminder of what 
we must achieve.
    It will take a long time. For instance, this panel's charge is for a 
decade. And it will take a lot of tough work. It will take energy and 
determination and imagination. But those are the building blocks of the 
American spirit.
    But we're armed for this battle. Fortunately, our kids give us a 
great secret weapon. They are the best natural resource of any nation on 
Earth. We've seen our young people perform in the Persian Gulf, and 
we've seen what they can do. And they inspire us to reinvent our 
educational system. We must forge a system worthy of them. We've got to 
create a system that will help them compete in the world of the 21st 
century and one that will let them be the very best in that world. They 
can be the best, and they will be the best.
    Teachers--bless them--also provide an incredible resource, like 
teacher Danford Sakai of Waiakea High School. He summed up what we need 
in this battle when he called for ``commitment, caring, common sense, 
communication, and courage.''
    I really, Governor Romer, want to thank this panel on behalf of the 
country. Your meeting certainly makes this an important day, a concrete 
beginning and pledge of commitment. You are our navigator, guiding us 
toward this new world of standards of excellence in education.
    And as we prepare to confront what may be the most pressing crisis 
of our society, a favorite quote comes to mind: ``Whatever you can do--
or dream you can do--begin it. For boldness has genius, power, and magic 
in it.''
    We can respond to that call together. We can dream bold dreams and 
unleash the power and magic that are, indeed, the genius of the American 
spirit. And that's how we can reinvent American education.

[[Page 601]]

    Thank you all very much for giving your time to your country in this 
manner. We are very, very grateful to you. And may God bless our 
country. Thank you so much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 1:30 p.m. in the 
                        Independence ``A'' Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt 
                        Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Roy 
                        Romer of Colorado, chairman of the panel; 
                        Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander; and Gov. 
                        Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., of South Carolina, a 
                        member of the panel.