[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[June 11, 1991]
[Pages 628-630]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 628]]


Remarks in a Teleconference With the Annual Meeting of the Public 
Broadcasting Service in Orlando, Florida
June 11, 1991

    The President. Thank you for that kind introduction and for your 
generous comments about our approach to education. And I'll tell you, 
the Points of Light concept, something new with us--we're trying to put 
some focus on it. But believe me, it is taking hold across this country, 
and I think it's a wonderful thing. And I appreciate your interest in 
all of that.
    I must confess I wish I were with you in Orlando. Instead, I'm stuck 
up here in Disney World North. [Laughter]
    I love the idea of talking with you in this manner in a 
teleconference. Nothing could be more appropriate. Every day, PBS 
transforms ideas, lessons, and information from one side of this country 
to the other--big cities, small towns, and back again.
    And some of us remember when PBS was called educational television. 
Your name's changed, but of course, that we understand. But your mission 
hasn't. And today, your 300 affiliates serve 63,000 elementary and 
secondary schools across this country. And your broadcasts reach 30 
million kindergarten through 12th grade students. And some of your 
programs sustain inquisitive adults. And others go straight to college 
and university campuses.
    Personally, I'd like your help. I'm looking for a good computer 
instruction course. But you probably need to find a truly qualified 7-
year-old to make it credible.
    I was out in Milwaukee the other day. And you should have seen--
maybe you all have seen this--but you should have seen the competence of 
these young kids as they move into the computer age, their competence on 
computers. It's fantastic. We've got to do more.
    In the past year, enrollment, if you want to call it that, in your 
electronic college classroom has grown 20 percent. These and other 
programs fit right into our America 2000 education strategy. As you 
know, that strategy follows a four-track path to achieving our six 
national education goals: creating better and more accountable schools 
for today's students; inventing a new generation of American schools; 
becoming a nation of students, young and old; and making our communities 
places where learning can happen.
    We've talked a bit about how you improve today's schools. Track one: 
Everyone should get involved. For instance, I'm happy to see that PBS 
will be donating a satellite dish to Slanesville, West Virginia, home of 
the Teacher of the Year, Rae Ellen McKee. Is that she I see smiling away 
on the monitor, maybe? And she'll be talking to you in just a few 
minutes. And what a person she is. You know, I visited her school in 
April, and I think you'll agree when you hear her that she deserves and 
has earned the high honor that she's received.
    State-of-the-art hardware is just one way you help our schools step 
into their future. My kids tell me they used to dread it when a teacher 
rolled a television into the classroom because they knew they'd have to 
look at a black and white videotaped lecture from a teacher in a room 
with bad acoustics. Now, no one makes those complaints anymore. You've 
changed with the times. You've developed new programming. You've 
pioneered new broadcasting techniques, including closed-captioning for 
deaf students and the descriptive video service for blind students.
    And now, as we prepare to create new American schools, you look to 
the heavens. Telstar 401, due to race into orbit in 1993, will let you 
transmit television signals nationwide. And that certainly won't hurt 
when it comes to developing new audiences for your shows.
    Track three of America 2000, developing a nation of students, runs 
right through your studios. You mentioned Barbara, and I'm grateful for 
your very kind comments about her. But she and I cannot thank you enough 
for your work in giving previously illiterate Americans the gift of 
reading. Project Literacy U.S.--PLUS--helps turn Americans submerged in 
the darkness of il-

[[Page 629]]

literacy into beaming points of light. You offer refresher courses, 
practical courses in programs that cause the viewer to pause, think, and 
explore the universe of ideas.
    I can't think of any series that has done more to advance the study 
of American history, for instance, than Ken Burns' series, ``The Civil 
War.''
    I'll be visiting some very special students just in an hour or so, 
in Delaware later today--a group of night school students who've worked 
hard to gain high school diplomas. And frankly, I'd be surprised if they 
didn't owe some of their inspiration in education to you.
    So, my point is simple: The days of the little red schoolhouse are 
over. We find ourselves in an era of competition. And education, like 
any other vital industry, will benefit from the constant tug and pull of 
new ideas, new products. You push everyone in the education industry to 
do more, to do better. For years, your efforts--and I've talked only 
about a few of them--have promoted respect for learning and an appetite 
for education.
    In launching our America 2000 project, I have asked each State and 
every American community to join in an ambitious effort, a crusade--and 
this one is--a crusade for educational excellence. In many communities 
across this country, individuals have already stepped forward to be the 
sparkplug that energizes businessmen, parents, community leaders, and 
educators to make America's schools better and more accountable.
    I believe our schools will change for the better when parents and 
communities make change their mission. And so as the America 2000 
project takes root in communities across this country, I would ask each 
of you to join us, to become involved in this enormously important 
revolution to transform American education.
    Well, thanks for listening to my lecture. It is a pleasure to be 
with you in this marvelous electronic manner. And now, with no further 
ado, I would once again say thanks, and I'd be glad to take a question 
or two. Thank you very much.
    Q. Thank you very much, Mr. President. We appreciate your remarks to 
us. You talked about change. How will the role of the States and local 
educational organizations change in the next century?
    The President. Well, State Governors and legislatures, along with 
local school districts, are absolutely crucial to the success of our 
America 2000 strategy. Those who think that education problems can be 
solved in Washington ought to know better, because the American people 
know better. The Federal Government provides roughly 7 percent--7 
percent--of the total dollars spent on education; State and local 
governments provide 93 percent. At the national level, we can set goals 
and standards that every community, every school, and every student can 
try to achieve.
    That was the beauty of the Charlottesville conference with the 
Governors. But it is in our States, it's in our communities that we must 
become part of the crusade to invent a new generation of American 
schools, to figure out better ways of teaching and learning. The States 
will have to agree to hold themselves and their schools to much higher 
standards. This simply cannot be done from Washington. I am not anti-
Washington, but that can't be done from Washington.
    The Secretary of Education, Lamar Alexander, and I are committed to 
lead--to exhort everyone to a higher standard and to travel this country 
and highlight models of what works. Next week we'll join Governor Romer, 
for example, the Governor of Colorado, who's very active in education. I 
might say here, look, this is a totally nonpartisan effort. And Governor 
Romer, we'll be with him when he kicks off Colorado 2000, the first 
statewide effort to adopt the national education goals and develop the 
strategies to meet them. The State role is crucial as communities across 
the Nation compete to be America 2000 communities. Our new breed of 
education Governors--and they are fantastic--is essential to the success 
of our revolutionary new program, America 2000.
    Q. And in addition to what you see as you go around the country, you 
often also meet with world leaders. Have you seen any education 
initiatives in other countries that you'd like to see incorporated in 
your educational goals for the United States?
    The President. Well, yes, some are doing

[[Page 630]]

certain things better than we are. In Japan and Korea, the parents are 
actively involved in their children's schools--I'd say more so than 
here. Students do much more homework. This will go over well down there 
in Orlando with the public schools, but they do much more homework than 
the average student in American schools. In China, students routinely 
learn two or three languages. I happen to think we need to do better in 
multilingual disciplines.
    In the Soviet Union, students are learning algebra in elementary 
school. You saw the reports the other day from this nationwide study, 
and it was appalling what we're not achieving in mathematics. Government 
leaders around the world tell me that students are learning math in 
different ways than American youngsters. They aren't just learning to 
use computers, but are applying math to everyday problems, everyday 
situations.
    So, there is a lot to learn from other countries. I am not 
apologizing and saying that they're all right and we're wrong. But we 
should remember that we want to have American schools that countries 
everywhere are trying to emulate. Japan, for instance, is trying to 
introduce more creativity and get away from just learning by rote. And 
wherever we go, we're the world's grand champions in scientific research 
and technology. So, we can learn from them, and they can learn from us.
    But the main point is, we're involved here in something that is 
really revolutionary. For America 2000 to succeed, we've got to think 
anew, as Lincoln said. We've got to do it in a way that approaches these 
problems with no fixed conclusions as to how to solve them, but with 
innovative ideas. And that is why I am so delighted with the 
participation of the Governors. That's why I'm so delighted with what 
you referred to, sir, as the Points of Light approach where communities 
and public media and everybody are involved in innovating, in putting 
the focus where it needs to be put--and that is on getting this country 
better educated.
    And we can do it. This isn't just a lot of hot air rhetoric out of 
Washington. Believe me, as I go around this country, I sense a 
determination in the communities to get the job done, to improve our 
educational system. And it's not simply a desire of Americans to be 
number one again, although I think we've got an awful lot that lends 
that description to us right now. It's a desire to see--it's an 
understanding--put it this way--that a better educated young people 
guarantees the future of this country.
    So, look, thanks for letting me drop in on you from about 22,000 
miles out there in space by satellite. And thank you all for all that 
you are doing to make America smarter. Thank you all, and I hope you 
have a wonderful meeting there.

                    Note: The President spoke at 9:39 a.m. in Room 459 
                        of the Old Executive Office Building via a two-
                        way video and audio hookup with the meeting in 
                        Orlando. In his remarks, he referred to Rae 
                        Ellen McKee, a teacher at Slanesville Elementary 
                        School, Slanesville, WV; Secretary of Education 
                        Lamar Alexander; and Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado.