    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [May 8, 2002]
    [Pages 741-747]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

     Remarks at Logan High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin
     May 8, 2002

         The President.  Thank you. Okay, here we go. Thank you all very
    much. It's----
         Audience member. We all love you!
         The President.  Your mother may be watching; behave yourselves.
    [Laughter]
        I'm honored to be here. I want to thank the citizens of La Crosse,
    Wisconsin, for such a warm welcome. I'm--great to be here in Logan High
    School. It's a great place.
         So I was being briefed about Logan High School. I'll tell you what
    impressed me the most. I was impressed by the fact you've got a great
    baseball team. I was impressed you've got a great girls basketball team.
    But I was most impressed when I saw that the school raised a banner for
    the academic superstars. I'm at this school, of course, to talk
    education, but I'm also here to herald excellence. And we have found
    excellence at Logan High School, and thanks for giving me a chance to
    come by.
         I appreciate the Secretary of Education traveling with me today. You know, we've got a lot of
    people who like to theorize in Washington, DC--kind of philosopher
    types. I'm kind of a roll-up-your-sleeve-and-get-it-done type guy. And
    that's what I want the people--and I picked that kind of man as our
    Secretary of Education as well. This is a fellow who's been on the
    frontlines of education. I had the honor of meeting your
    superintendent here in La Crosse. They were
    able to talk superintendent talk. [Laughter] They know how to get things
    done. And so I've got a really good man who's joined me in my
    administration to help make sure that no child in America--and we mean
    no child--is left behind when it comes to education.
         I want to thank Logan High grad, class of '81, Congressman Ron
    Kind for joining us today. Thank you, Ron. I really
    appreciate you coming today. I'm honored you're here. I also want to
    thank your Governor, Scott McCallum, for
    traveling with me today as well. I want to thank Michael
    McArdle, who is the president of the La
    Crosse School Board, for being here. I want to thank all the school
    board members. I appreciate Thomas Downs, who's
    your superintendent. Interestingly enough, he showed me a picture of he
    and my dad when he was--I think, a teacher, he said, in Iowa. I really
    want to thank Scott and the staff and the teachers for making this visit
    possible. You know, one of the things I've learned, as Governor and now
    President, is that when you find a good school, you also find a good
    principal.
         There's going to be some folks here graduating, I understand,
    pretty soon.
         Audience members.  Yes!
         The President.  Don't take it for granted. [Laughter] But you'll be
    the first high school class that has graduated with America under
    attack. We got under attack in September, and you're graduating in a
    time

    [[Page 742]]

    of war. And I want to talk to you a little bit about what that means for
    America, what it means for our country, what it means for a nation to
    fight for what it believes in.
         I can't imagine what went through the minds of our enemy when they
    attacked us on September the 11th. You know, they must have thought
    America was so self-absorbed, so materialistic, so selfish that we would
    cower in the face of a challenge; well, we might file a few lawsuits or
    two, but that would be all we would do. But that's not the America I
    know, and that's not the America you're a part of. This is a country
    that when it comes to defending that which we believe in, when it comes
    to defending our freedoms, we are patient; we're deliberate; and we are
    plenty tough.
         You're graduating in a time of war, right here in America, but a
    war that your textbooks really haven't been able to describe before.
    It's a new kind of threat to our country. Now, you need to know right
    off the bat that our enemy are nothing but a bunch of coldblooded
    killers. And they hate America because of our freedoms. They cannot
    stand the thought that we worship freely, that we've got freedom of the
    press, that we debate freely. They can't stand that. It bothers them.
    And therefore, they're out to hurt us again.
         Now, you need to also know that we're doing everything we can to
    protect the American people. My most important job is the security of
    the American people. I learn that every day when I walk into the grand
    Oval Office. In the morning, I walk in there, and first thing I do, of
    course, is--after I bring the First Lady a little coffee--[laughter]--is
    take Spot and Barney down, let them work the South Lawn for a while.
    [Laughter] Spot was born in the White House. She's 13 years old. She
    understands the decorum of the Oval, so she gets to go in. But Barney is
    only a year and a half and we got a new rug, so he doesn't. [Laughter]
         Every morning I read about threats to America. I read about the
    enemy wanting to inflict some more harm on us. And every morning it
    reminds me that I will do everything in my power to protect the American
    people.
         Our law enforcement officials are talking better amongst each
    other; we're sharing information a lot better way now. The Federal
    Government is in better communications with State and local governments.
    And anytime we get a hint or anytime we get kind of a sniff that
    something might be fixing to happen, you need to know we're acting.
    We're acting within the confines of the United States Constitution, but
    we're acting.
         But the best way--and I want the students to understand this--the
    best way for me and our Government to protect the homeland is to chase
    these killers down one by one and bring them to justice. And that's what
    we're going to do. And it's going to take a lot longer than people want;
    it's just going to take a lot longer than people want. We're not dealing
    with an organized government with the Al Qaida network. We're dealing
    with people who, on the one hand, send youngsters off to kill
    themselves, and they themselves try to hide in caves. That's the way
    they are.
         It's important for you to know as well that when your country
    speaks, we're going to do what we say. And we told the Taliban, ``Since
    you're harboring those terrorists, you're just as guilty,'' and we ran
    them out of business. Thanks to the United States military and a mighty
    coalition, we ran them out of business.
         Our country doesn't seek revenge. I want the high school kids here
    to understand: We don't seek revenge; we seek justice; that's what we
    seek. And when we went into Afghanistan, I want you to remember--and
    history will record--that this Nation, this decent, kind Nation
    liberated a group of people from the clutches of barbaric people who
    would not even educate young girls. We went in not as conquerors

    [[Page 743]]

    but as liberators. And I'm proud of our Nation, and I'm proud of our
    heart.
         Now, it's going to take a while--it's going to take a while. But
    much to the chagrin--I guess to the chagrin--I haven't spent a lot of
    time talking with the enemy, but I got the feeling they're going to be
    disappointed to hear that we're going to remain united as a country and
    that we're resolved and we're patient and we're plenty tough; that they
    think they can hide, but they can't. Our strategy has been not only to
    disrupt the government that harbored these people; we're destroying
    their training camps; we're disrupting their finances. We're chasing
    them down. We're denying them sanctuary in other parts of the world.
    Listen, these are the kind of people that if they can find a soft spot,
    they'll light. If they can find somewhere where there may be a weak
    government, they'll try to move in. And that's why, when I look at some
    of these leaders and send a message, ``Either you're with us, or you're
    with them,'' they understand that we mean what we say. And we're
    beginning to deny sanctuary.
         No, it's going to take a while. But the people in this high school,
    the kids in this high school have got to understand, it is worth it. I
    will not let--your Government's not going to let people destroy the
    freedoms that we love in America. We fight for civilization, and they're
    going to find out what this country is made out of. This country is
    going to defend our values to the core, and we're going to win.
         But not only do we work to make our country and the world safer; we
    also got to work to make it better, a better place. And it starts with
    making sure every child in America gets educated. I--there's been a lot
    of talk about this bill I was able to sign--by the way, worked on by
    both Republicans and Democrats. It was a--it was a refreshing change of
    what sometimes takes place in Washington, or a lot of times, where
    people are in there just trying to promote their own political party
    without worry about the Nation. This is a piece of legislation where we
    worried about the Nation and not our political parties, and the Nation
    is better off for it. I want to thank Ron for his
    vote on this piece of legislation, by the way.
         But here's what--here's what--let me tell you the philosophy in the
    bill. It first starts off by saying, in order to achieve educational
    excellence around the Nation, we must have high expectations and high
    standards. It starts with the belief that every child can learn. If you
    have low expectations--in other words, some can't learn--you're going to
    get bad results. It starts with a mindset. See, I believe every child
    can learn, and I expect every child to learn. We have raised the bar of
    expectations.
         And in order to make sure that's happening, we're insisting that
    people show us it's happening. See, if you believe it can happen, then
    you want to know if it's happening. If you don't believe it can happen,
    you don't care. If you have low expectations for students, if you have
    low standards, you don't care whether they're learning, because you
    don't think they can. If you have high expectations, you care, and
    therefore, you want to see.
         And we want to know. We want to know through an accountability
    system, designed not by the Federal Government but by the good people of
    Wisconsin. That's who's going to design it. We want to know. We want to
    know. We want to see the scores. We want to post it for everybody to
    see, because we believe every child can learn. I know you don't like to
    take tests. Too bad. [Laughter] It is important. It's important. So what
    we're saying, that after a period of time, the State of Wisconsin must
    develop accountability, grades three through eight. If we spend Federal
    money, we're going to see some results. And so we want to know.
        And by the way, an accountability system is not meant to punish
    anybody; it's meant to be used as an information tool. And if

    [[Page 744]]

    things are going well, we ought to use the accountability system as a
    way to praise the teachers and principals for success. However, if we
    find out children aren't learning, there's a reason, and we need to know
    the reason. And we need to solve the problems early, before it's too
    late. This business about just shuffling kids through the system has got
    to end. This business about kind of promoting them out--[applause].
         But part of making sure that we also succeed is the understanding
    that one size doesn't fit all when it comes to public education. I mean,
    look, we don't want Federal--Washington, DC, telling you all how to run
    your schools. You've got plenty of good people here in Wisconsin. As a
    matter of fact, the people who love the children in Wisconsin are the
    people of Wisconsin. And therefore, we have passed a lot of power and
    authority out of DC to align responsibility and authority where it
    belongs, at the local level.
         Also, an incredibly important part of a successful school system,
    the thing that matters a lot, of course, is the teachers. And I want to
    thank the teachers here at Logan High School for doing what you do. It's
    an incredibly noble profession. It's an important profession. And it's
    one that I hope--I assume that you get a lot out of it by making sure
    that our children learn.
         The teaching profession needs to be heralded. And we've got a great
    person in my administration who's willing to do just that, a former
    teacher, my wife, Laura. When I married her, she
    was a public school librarian. And the truth of the matter is, she
    didn't particularly care for politics or politicians, for that matter.
    [Laughter] Thank goodness she said yes when I asked her to marry me. A
    lot of people now know why I asked her to marry me. A lot of people are
    wondering out loud why she said yes. [Laughter] But she's great. And
    she's going to go around the country reminding people that if you want
    to serve your community--reminding young and old--if you want to serve
    your community, teach. Become a teacher. We've got a Troops for Teachers
    program for retired military to go in the classroom. We've got Teach for
    America programs. We've got all kinds of opportunities. When you go to
    college and you're looking for something to do and you're wondering
    about your career, think about becoming a teacher, to make a difference
    in the lives of our children.
         The bill we passed has got $3 billion additional dollars in there
    for teacher training, teacher recruitment, teacher retention programs.
    And that's good. But it's going to be up to the local districts, the
    States and local districts, to figure out how to spend that money to
    make it work for the teachers.
         But I'll tell you another piece of reform that's really important
    in this bill. One of the things that's important is for teachers to be
    able to control her classroom or his classroom. It's essential that that
    be the case. And for the first time, the Federal Government has limited
    liability for teachers and principals and school board members and
    superintendents when they enforce reasonable standards of conduct in
    classrooms.
         Let me see if I can put that a little more plainly. If you think
    you can disrupt your class, you're going to get booted out, and the
    teacher's not going to get sued. So don't disrupt the class. [Laughter]
         Parents have got a lot to do with whether or not schools in our
    communities succeed. The parents have got to make sure that young
    children read more than they watch TV. That's a hard thing to do. Oh, I
    know it's hard to turn off the TV and read to your child. But it's
    really important for a mom or a dad--if a mom or a dad wants their child
    to learn, get reading to them early and stay on it and click off the
    tube. Your children are going to learn a heck of a lot more.
         It's important for parents to come to the PTAs and to be
    interested. It's important for a parent to make sure that a child
    understands respect for teachers when they

    [[Page 745]]

    get in that classroom, that they have got a responsibility to be
    respectful. And one way to make sure parents are involved is to use the
    accountability system. A lot of parents in America feel like their
    school is doing just fine, until they see the results of the children's
    tests, until it's a comparative system like you do here in La Crosse.
         This man right here, he's not worried about comparing. He's a
    confident principal. He's confident in the
    teachers. He doesn't care if there's a comparison, because he knows he's
    going to do well. He's focused. He likes that idea of a good, healthy
    comparison.
         But in order to enhance parental involvement, parents need to know.
    It's amazing how many parents say, ``Everything is going just fine in my
    child's school,'' until they see the results. And if you want to enhance
    teacher--parental involvement, let them see whether or not their
    children are learning relative to the school across town. Just make sure
    that the scorecard is honest and open and transparent, and you'll get
    parental involvement and even more.
         This State has enacted public school choice, which basically says,
    if your child is trapped in a failed school, we're not going to tolerate
    that anymore. And if you're tired of it, you can move to another public
    school. I think that's a good, healthy reform. Our bill does just that.
    And not only that, if a child is trapped in a school that won't change,
    after 3 years there are what's called supplemental services. That means
    money, Title I money follows the child--a Title I-eligible child to
    tutoring services, summer school, after-school services. If you're
    interested in making sure no child is left behind and you find children
    trapped in schools that will not change and will not teach, we've got to
    make sure that they get extra help, and give parents additional choices.
         And that's exactly what this bill does. Parental involvement not
    only happens when there's care and love--I told people earlier today at
    our seminar, I can't make people love one another; that's not the role
    of Government. But we can provide the tools necessary for loving parents
    to become more involved. And one way to do so is for the results to be
    open and for parents to have different options.
         Now, we've got a good plan, but it's up to you to make it work. The
    Federal Government is not going to--the Federal Government is going to
    spend money, which we have; the Federal Government is going to provide a
    strategy. But it's up for the local folks, and that's why we've come to
    this school. This is a school in which the community takes great pride.
    Mothers and dads take great interest. The teachers take great time to
    make sure that every child gets educated. A better America is going to
    be an America that educates every child.
         I keep saying ``every child.'' The truth of the matter is, we're
    not educating every child right now. We're letting a lot of them just go
    on through, the tough-to-educate. ``If you don't speak English or the
    mothers or daddies don't speak English as a first language, let's just
    move them through''--that's going to quit, as far as I'm concerned.
    That's not the America I know.
         The public school system is a vital part of our democracy. It is
    absolutely essential that we have educational excellence if we want our
    democracy and our freedom and our system to flourish and thrive. And
    that's the kind of public school system I envision, and I know it's the
    kind you envision as well.
         I believe that out of the evil of September the 11th will come
    incredible good. I believe that we can achieve peace. That's my dream.
    Oh, it's going to be tough to get there; there's going to be some hills
    to climb. But out of this, by being firm and resolved, we'll achieve
    peace, and that's important for America. It's important for our
    children. It's important for our children's children.
         I also believe out of this evil will come some good, because
    Americans are such a compassionate and kind people. People ask

    [[Page 746]]

    me, ``What can I do to join the war on terror?'' And my answer is, love
    a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself--that if you want to
    fight evil, do some good; that if you want to confront the evildoers
    that struck America, walk across the street and tell a shut-in that you
    love them. Mentor a child. Teach a child. Go to your church or your
    synagogue or your mosque and rally the compassion within the--within the
    halls there to feed the hungry. There are pockets of despair in America.
    There are pockets of hopelessness right here in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
    And if you want to fight evil, tackle those pockets of despair with love
    and decency.
         I met Dorothy Wetterlin today.
    Where's Dorothy? She's somewhere. Hey, Dorothy, stand up, will you? No?
    You don't want to stand up? Okay, don't stand up. Dorothy kindly came
    out to the airport to greet me. The reason why is because Dorothy is a
    soldier in the army of compassion here in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She is--
    helps victims of domestic abuse and violence. She started puppet shows
    for young kids in elementary schools to teach them how to make the right
    choices when it comes to drugs and alcohol. She's a person making a
    difference. She's a person who understands that one person can't do
    everything but one person can darned sure do something to help somebody
    in need.
         America is full of Dorothys. You've got them all across this
    country. And I want the young to understand that I believe you have an
    obligation as an American to help make this country a compassionate and
    decent place. I believe that it's important for you--I know it's
    important you go to college or whatever you're going to do after high
    school, go to work. But remember, if you're interested in fighting evil,
    do some good. Lend your heart; lend your talent to help somebody in
    need.
         And America is doing this. I am so optimistic about the future of
    our country, not only because we are strong and tough and resolved. I am
    optimistic about the future of America because we are decent and
    honorable and good people.
         I think the most telling event on September 11th, and one that I
    hope a lot of people remember, is what happened on Flight 93. Basically,
    what I'm saying is, it's important to serve something greater than
    yourself in life. It's important to serve a call greater than yourself
    and a cause greater than yourself. Flight 93, we had average citizens
    flying across the country, and they realized their plane was fixing to
    be used as a weapon on the Nation's Capital. They called their loved
    ones on the phone. They said a prayer and told them they loved them,
    said a prayer, and they drove the plane in the ground to serve something
    greater than themselves.
        That's the American spirit I know. That's that sense of sacrifice
    that makes this country so strong. And that's exactly what's happening.
    I want you to know when you get out of high school, you're going to
    college, and you're going to college in the greatest land, the greatest
    nation on the face of the Earth. And it is my high honor to be the
    President of the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
         Thank you for letting me come. May God bless.

      Note:  The President spoke at 1:05 p.m. in the school's gymnasium. In
    his remarks, he referred to Scott Mihalovic, principal, Logan High
    School. He also referred to Title I of the Improving America's Schools
    Act of 1994 (Public Law No. 103-382), which amended Title I of the
    Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law No. 89-10).

    [[Page 747]]