    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 2, 2002]
    [Pages 326-327]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 2, 2002

        Good morning. This coming week I will be highlighting measures to
    help America's public schools carry out the education reforms we enacted
    in Washington earlier this year. Our education reforms require
    accountability and results and give schools greater resources to achieve
    them.
        Parents will have more information about the performance of their
    local schools and more say in how their children are educated. The No
    Child Left Behind Act is historic, ushering in a new era of
    accountability and education, but a lot of hard work is still ahead.
        The effectiveness of all education reform eventually comes down to a
    good teacher in a classroom. And America's teachers are eager to put
    higher standards into action, and we must give them the tools to
    succeed. My administration has set a great goal for our public schools,
    a quality teacher in every classroom.
        We can achieve this in two ways, by attracting capable men and women
    into the teaching profession, and providing teachers the training and
    support they deserve. Over the next decade, America will need more than
    2 million new teachers. The budget I have signed into law for 2002
    includes nearly $3 billion for teacher training, recruiting, and hiring,
    an increase of more than 35 percent over the last year's budget.
        We proposed to expand programs that recruit new math, science, and
    special education teachers by forgiving part of their college loans in
    exchange for a commitment to teach in poor neighborhoods for at least 5
    years. We should open up the teaching profession, allowing people who
    have achieved in other fields, including veterans and parents with grown
    children, to share their learning and experience. And we must upgrade
    the teaching colleges, where many teachers receive their training, the
    topic of a conference that will be hosted by our First Lady on
    Tuesday.
        Today, only 36 percent of teachers, themselves, say they feel very
    well prepared for their jobs, so we'll focus on teacher training efforts
    where the need is greatest, in early childhood education, special
    education, math, science, and reading instruction. Through my
    administration's Reading

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    First program, we are placing a new emphasis on the most basic of
    skills, and many of our teachers will need training in the best and
    proven methods of reading instruction.
        Because learning only takes place in an atmosphere of order, we want
    our teachers to be in control of their classrooms. So we're protecting
    teachers from the threat of frivolous lawsuits that often result from
    enforcing reasonable discipline. Because committed teachers often buy
    school supplies for their students out of their own pockets, the budget
    I have proposed includes a tax deduction to cover some of those costs.
    And because I strongly believe in local control of education, I'll
    implement new flexibility for school districts. They'll be able to use
    Federal funds where the local need is greatest, to reduce class sizes or
    improve teacher training or to increase teacher pay.
        In our new era of education reform we're asking a lot of our
    teachers, and we owe them something in return. We must treat them as the
    professionals they are. We must give them our respect and support.
    Teachers are among the most important people in our children's lives,
    and a good teacher can literally make a lifelong difference. I have
    confidence in the education reforms we enacted because I have confidence
    in the teachers who will carry them out.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 10:00 a.m. on February 28 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 2.
    The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary
    on March 1 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.