    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
    [April 20, 2005]
    [Pages 630-633]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring the 2005 National and State Teachers of the Year
    April 20, 2005

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome. Welcome to the Rose
    Garden. And it's a beautiful day to continue the tradition of honoring
    America's finest teachers at the White House. We're really happy you're
    here.
        Somewhere along the way, all of us got to know a teacher who made a
    real difference in our lives. In my case, I married one--[laughter]--and
    I appreciate you. I appreciate my love for Laura.
    I appreciate Laura's love for teaching, and I appreciate the great job
    you're doing as the First Lady.
        She was raised in Midland, just like you
    were, Carol. Maybe that has something to do
    with it.
        We like to say in our household, teaching is more than a job; it is
    a calling. You know what I'm talking about. You wouldn't be sitting here
    if you had not heard the calling. By helping every child realize his or
    her potential, our teachers show their students that dreams can become
    reality. What a fantastic job, isn't it, to help somebody realize a
    dream can become a reality. All who answer the call to teach deserve our
    support, our respect, and our affection.
        Somebody who understands the role of a teacher is our Secretary of
    Education, Margaret Spellings, who is
    with us. Margaret has been a longtime friend. We were involved with
    education reform in Texas. We bring the spirit of reform to Washington,
    DC, and you're doing a fine job, Madam Secretary.
        The chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, John
    Boehner, is with us, from the great State of
    Ohio. Thank you, John. Bob Filner from
    California; Doc Hastings from Washington;
    Leonard Boswell from the great State of
    Iowa--welcome. Appreciate you all. I want to thank you for taking time
    out of your schedules to come here. This is an important moment, and I
    appreciate you recognizing it as such.
        I want to thank the Mayor. Mr.
    Mayor, thank you for coming. I always like to tell the Mayor that it's
    important for the Mayor to fill the potholes--[laughter]--particularly
    close to White House, Mayor. And you're doing a fine job. Last time I
    saw the Mayor was at Opening Day. For those of you who follow
    professional baseball, you know that we've got the Nationals here in
    town. It's exciting for the Nation's Capital to have the Nationals. And
    one of the reasons the Nationals are here is because of the Mayor. And
    so, Mr. Mayor, thank you for your leadership.
        And City Councilwoman Carol Schwartz, who
    I referred to earlier--Laura, Carol, and I were
    raised in Midland, Texas. Pretty long odds for three people raised in
    Midland to end up in Washington in the Rose Garden, by the way.
    [Laughter] But welcome, glad you're here, Carol.
        I want to thank the National Teacher of the Year finalists: Stan
    Murphy from California--San Diego,
    California; Vicki Goldsmith from Des
    Moines, Iowa; Tamara Steen from Washington
    State. We're proud you all are here.
        And of course, Jason Kamras, who is
    standing right here. I want to welcome his parents, Linda and Marvin. Thank you for
    coming. Congratulations on raising such a fine man. And Jeremy--Jason
    allowed his brothers, Jeremy and
    Michael, to show up as well. [Laughter] I
    asked one of the boys if they ever thought Jason would amount to
    anything. He told the truth. [Laughter] Jason has proved you wrong.
    [Laughter]
        I want to thank the 51 other State Teachers of the Year for being
    teachers and being such an accomplished teacher that you're being
    recognized here in the Rose Garden. We welcome you here. We

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    thank you for your compassion. And we welcome your guests as well.
        We welcome Tom Houlihan, the
    executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, and we
    appreciate you sponsoring this event. We welcome Ernie
    Fleishman, the senior vice president of
    Scholastic, Inc., which is a sponsoring organization of this event. We
    welcome Tom McInerney, the CEO of ING
    U.S. Financial Services, which is one of the sponsors of this event.
    Obviously, this is a big event to have required three sponsors.
    [Laughter] We're glad you're here. We want to thank the chief State
    school officers who are here today.
        I want to pay particular respect to an educational entrepreneur who
    has shown one person can make an enormous difference. Wendy Kopp, the president and founder of Teach For America, is with
    us. And we welcome you back to the White House, Wendy, and we're glad
    you're here. There is a reason why Wendy is here, which you will hear in
    a minute.
        America's teachers help our students develop the schools--skills
    they need to succeed in our schools. That's what you do. You teach a
    child how to read and write, but you also teach a child how to think and
    hope. Teaching is a demanding job. It's an incredibly demanding job. And
    I hope our fellow citizens understand how hard it is to get to the
    classroom every day and to keep your spirits up, to keep your vision
    clear about what is possible, and to keep your patience. I'm sure we
    tested our--patience of our teachers a lot, Mayor, when you and I were growing up. [Laughter]
        I appreciate the fact that good teachers instill a passion for
    learning. You know, passion is a powerful world--word, and that's why
    the teachers are here with us, because they have instilled a passion for
    somebody to go to class every day to learn. When young people become
    good students with big dreams, they become better citizens. Our country
    is better off as a result of our teachers instilling passion and hope.
        We expect a lot from our teachers, and teachers have a right to
    expect a lot from us. Education is one of the top priorities of this
    administration and this Congress. That's why we passed the No Child Left
    Behind Act. People from both parties came together. I love the spirit of
    the No Child Left Behind Act. I suspect the teachers love the spirit of
    challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. People believe that we
    ought to set high standards and believe that every child--and if you do
    believe every child can learn to read and write and add and subtract, it
    makes sense to determine whether they are, so we can--and if not, so we
    can solve problems early, before it's too late.
        Because of teachers and hard work, because we expect every child to
    learn to read and write and add and subtract, there's an achievement gap
    in America which is closing. I can say it's closing because we measure
    to find out if it is closing. I'm proud to report that test scores are
    up. In fourth grade, math test scores are up across the Nation by nine
    points over the last 3 years. Eighth graders improved by five points
    over the same period of time. We're making progress.
        There is more to do. Margaret and I believe we ought to build on
    this success by bringing higher standards and accountability to the
    Nation's high schools. I'm sure the Nation's finest teachers share our
    commitment that every student must be prepared for college and,
    therefore, prepared for the jobs of the 21st century, so we can say
    after it's all said and done, no child was left behind in our country.
        One of the finest teachers in our country is with us today. He is
    the 2005 National Teacher of the Year, Jason Kamras. He teaches mathematics at John Philip Sousa Middle
    School, right here in the Nation's Capital. Jason joined the Teach For
    America program. He did so because he wanted

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    to show students, the so-called hard-to-educate, that with high works
    and high standards, they can overcome any challenge they face.
        The Teach For America program asks for a 2-year commitment.
    Jason is now in his eighth year of that 2-year
    commitment. Because he chose to stay, countless students have better
    lives and they have a better future. He's usually at work at 7 a.m., and
    he rarely leaves before 7 p.m. He's had high expectations for himself,
    and he sets high expectations for his students. He works tirelessly to
    raise math scores, and his students are responding. Jason says,
    ``Nothing surpasses the joy I feel when a student proclaims proudly,
    `Mr. Kamras, now I get it.' '' I suspect the teachers here understand
    exactly what he means by saying that.
        Like all great teachers, Jason knows that
    his students' needs do not end when the school bell rings. He
    understands that at the end of the day, there's more work to be done.
    And so he cofounded a program called EXPOSE, which takes students out of
    their southwest Washington neighborhoods to places like the Lincoln and
    Jefferson Memorials or the National Gallery of Art.
        Jason is also teaching his students how to
    produce photos about their lives and communities. I think you'll find it
    interesting to know that these photos have been shown at the Capital
    Children's Museum and other places around the District. In other words,
    Jason is building self-esteem.
        When his students need individual attention, Jason is always there to support them, interestingly enough,
    even after they've left the school. I suspect this is some of your--some
    of you all share the same experience. When one of his former
    students was preparing for the SAT, Jason
    studied with him three times a week for 10 weeks. Isn't that
    interesting? The guy got a 1300 on the test. He now goes to Morehouse
    College in Atlanta. He's majoring in electrical engineering. He is the
    first person in his family to go to college.
        He says, ``I owe most of my success to
    Mr. Kamras. I do not know where I would be
    without him. He's more than a teacher to me. He is a true friend.''
    Gosh, it must make you feel good as teachers to have somebody say, ``You
    made a lot of difference in my life. You are a true friend.''
        Today America expresses its appreciation to Jason and to every one of our outstanding State Teachers of
    the Year. You give our young people the benefit of your knowledge, your
    support, your friendship. Your students are fortunate, really fortunate,
    to have you in their lives. And our Nation is fortunate to have you
    guiding the next generation of Americans.
        God bless you all for your hard work. God bless your families as
    well. It is my honor to introduce the 2005 National Teacher of the Year,
    Jason Kamras.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 11:10 a.m. in the Rose Garden
    at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Anthony A.
    Williams of Washington, DC; and Carol Schwartz, councilmember, Council
    of the District of Columbia. The transcript released by the Office of
    the Press Secretary also included the remarks of the First Lady and Mr.
    Kamras.

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