    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 30, 2008]
    [Pages 603-607]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring the 2008 National and State Teachers of the Year
    April 30, 2008

        The President. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to the White
    House. Welcome to the Rose Garden. We're walking out of the Oval Office,
    Mike turns to me and says, ``I like what
    you've done with the place.'' [Laughter] All I did was mow the lawn.
    [Laughter] Glad you're here.
        I'm really glad to be taking a part of an event that honors
    America's teachers. It's a tradition that started with Harry Truman.
    It's a tradition that Laura and I have really
    enjoyed carrying on. She's not here, unfortunately. She sends her best.
    You know, I like to tell people that, you know, one of the interesting
    questions you get in my line of work is, ``Can you name a teacher who
    had influenced you?'' I said, ``Yes, my wife.'' [Laughter]
        But she and Jenna are
    out promoting a new book that they wrote called ``Read All About It.''
    I'm not suggesting that people buy it, of course. That would be un-
    seemly here in the Rose Garden. [Laughter] But it is a book they're
    attempting to promote literacy. She sends her love. She understands what
    it means to be a teacher. We were so honored that our little girl chose
    to be a teacher as well. It made her dad feel really well. I'm sure--I
    just hope you know the influence you have on children. I suspect you do;
    that's why you're such a good teacher.
        Good teachers hear a call. Good teachers are empathetic souls. And
    really, the best teachers have a special intuition and, I suspect, a
    little potential, and so the ability to see potential and the ability to
    have the patience necessary to watch it grow. I want to thank you for
    nurturing young minds. I thank you for providing such wonderful
    examples. And I thank you for inspiring the imaginations and unleashing
    the talents of our Nation's young.
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        I'm up here with not only the Teacher of the Year, but with Margaret Spellings, the Secretary of Education. I do want to welcome
    Senator Gordon Smith and Senator
    [Congressman] * Greg Walden. Turns out they're
    both from the State of Oregon. [Laughter] I wonder why you're here? But
    anyway, I'm glad you're here. Thank you for being strong supporters of
    the teachers in your State.
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        * White House correction.
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        I welcome the State Teachers of the Year.
    I really enjoyed seeing you in the Oval Office. It's fun for me to be
    able to greet you and say thank you. And I can't thank you enough for
    serving as such great role models for other teachers in your States. And
    we're sure glad you're here.
        I do want to thank the National Teacher of the Year finalist: Lewis
    Chappelear, who is with us--thank you,
    Lewis--from California; June Teisan, from
    Michigan; as well as Tommy Smigiel, from
    Virginia--that would be Norfolk, Virginia.
        I am obviously up here with the Teacher of the Year. I'll spend a little time talking about Michael in a
    minute, but I am so proud that his mom and
    dad have joined us, as is he. Thank you for
    coming. I know it brings you great pride to have raised a son who is
    dedicated to helping others. His wife is
    with us, for whom I'll say something else a little later; son and daughter is with us, as
    well as brother. Thanks for coming.
        Finally, we got Ken James, president-
    elect, Council of the Chief State School Officers, who administers the
    Teacher of the Year program. Thanks for coming. And the rest of you are
    welcome here too. [Laughter]
        One of the things that Margaret and I
    have tried to do is help teachers be able to set high standards and
    achieve accountability. And that was the spirit behind passing No Child
    Left Behind Act. It basically--if you really think about the act, it,
    one, refuses to, what I used to call--still call--refuses to accept the
    soft bigotry of low expectations. I firmly believe that if you have low
    expectations, you'll achieve them. I believe that when you say to
    people, we want you to achieve high expectations, you really have got
    this great faith in the human potential. I also believe that if you're a
    teacher that you ought to welcome a law that says we trust you in your
    ability to set high expectations.
        And secondly, behind that law is a notion that we'd like at least to
    know whether or not people can read, write, and add and subtract. Good
    teachers understand that. As a matter of fact, the Teacher of the
    Year understands that, and I suspect you all
    do as well. I'm often told that the accountability system is a--is meant
    to punish. I don't think so. I think it's meant to diagnose and correct
    and reward. And you're Teachers of the Year because you've got kids in
    your classroom who are excelling. And the reason we know is because we
    measure.
        And so I want to thank you for being people willing to set high
    standards. Curiously enough, because we do measure, we have learned this
    fall that fourth graders and eighth [graders] * earned the highest math
    and reading scores in the history of our Nation's Report Card. That's a
    positive sign. Eighth graders set a record in math scores. In other
    words, because we are people who believe in accountability, we're
    beginning to get a sense for whether or not the achievement gap in
    America is closing. And it must close in order for this country to
    realize its full potential.
        We understand that there's been some tough, tough neighborhoods, but
    that should not be an excuse for mediocrity. And I know our
    Teachers of
    the Year
    understand that and are willing to challenge the status quo and expect
    the best. And so we appreciate very much your work. And we hope Congress
    would reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. It's--and we're

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    committed to working with Members of Congress to do it. The good news is
    the act doesn't go away without reauthorization; it still exists.
        And so what--last week, what Secretary Spellings did, because the act hasn't been reauthorized, is
    that she announced a package of reforms that the Department of Education
    is now implementing to improve the No Child Left Behind Act, reforms
    that support our teachers and provide help to struggling students.
        One thing about No Child is that when you find somebody struggling,
    it's important to get extra resources to help that child get up to speed
    now, before it's too late. The reforms are going to deal with--help
    schools deal with dropouts, increase accountability, and ensure that
    more students get the tutoring we want.
        And so I want to thank you, Margaret,
    for being a leader, realizing the situation needs to be constantly
    improved, and improving it. And I think you'll find these additional
    tools and these measures will help you, not hurt you, and make it easier
    to do your job.
        And I hope Senators in Congress--we don't give up on
    reauthorization. I understand it's an election year and sometimes things
    don't get done, but this is a brilliant, important piece of legislation.
    And I thank you all for supporting us the first round. And I hope we can
    work together on this round as well.
        One person who believes very strongly in the potential of each child
    is our Teacher of the Year, Michael Geisen,
    who happens to be from Prineville, Oregon. Before he entered teaching--
    interesting enough, if you're from Prineville, one of the options for
    you is to be a forester. And he loves nature. He's an outdoors guy, and
    yet he really longed to be with his fellow citizens. There's no better
    way to do so than teaching. And so 7 years ago, after being a forester,
    he got in the classroom at Crook County Middle School.
        It was not an easy time for that school when he entered. Crook County had gone through five
    principals in 6 years. Students' test scores had flatlined. In other
    words, kind of, they were just maintaining, which is unacceptable. It's
    unacceptable to Michael; it should be unacceptable to everybody if we're
    just kind of maintaining.
        And so Mike saw his challenge, and he
    rose to it. You raised a good guy. Great teachers like Mike are
    optimists who believe in setting high standards. He believes that every
    child can learn if given a chance. And so when he became head of the
    science department, he created assessments for the students, and he put
    a system in place to measure results. That's what confident, optimistic
    people do; they say, ``I'm not afraid to measure.'' And if you believe
    every child can learn, then you want to assess to make sure they are.
        He knew the importance of parental
    involvement, so he created family-oriented school projects that would
    enlist moms and dads in their children's work. I suspect a lot of the
    Teachers of the Year understand how important that is, and that's why
    you're sitting out there. And he saw results. In his first 2 years as
    the department chair, the school State achievement scores in science
    rose from 55 percent to 72 percent, and they're still rising.
        Great teachers like Mike instill a love
    of learning in young people. And so he captivates his students. I told
    you about his humor, right? [Laughter] ``Did a fine job out here,
    President.'' [Laughter] Well, that--he takes that humor into the
    classroom.
        He also loves to use music in his
    classroom, and he has a hands-on science curriculum. So, like, on the
    music deal--so he turns to songs to get people to pay attention. One of
    the greatest hits he's used is about gravity. One I like was a blues
    song written from the perspective of a lonely bacterium. [Laughter]
    Mike, you can sing it here in the Rose Garden if you want to. [Laughter]

    [[Page 606]]

        Michael Geisen. You got a band?
    [Laughter]
        The President. Yes, I probably suggest you don't. But--[laughter]--I
    tried to dance here one time, and it made a--[laughter]--it didn't work.
    [Laughter]
        But here's what one of his students said, ``Mike Geisen is such an awesome teacher''--actually called him Mr.
    Geisen--``[he's] an awesome teacher. He could make watching grass grow
    interesting.'' No wonder you're Teacher of the Year. One of his
    signature achievements is the annual science fair where the students
    create everything from electric cars to electric hotdog cookers. The
    fair culminates with what Mike calls ``a legendary evening of science,
    creativity, food, and wackiness.'' It's not what a lot of people think
    as a science class, to be frank with you, but nevertheless, it's a
    reason he's the Teacher of the Year.
        He's found innovative ways to use his
    innate humor and creativity to encourage students to take science
    seriously. And we need a lot of scientists in America.
        He also is a role model. You all are all
    role models. He teaches his students the--about the importance of
    service by demonstrating it in his own life. One of the things he's done
    is he's volunteered a lot of time to raise money for rock--for a rock-
    climbing wall. He's an outdoorsman, as I told you. He strongly has a--
    respects the environment. And he's a family man. He's a role model
    because he's a good family man.
        Jennifer is here--thank you for coming--
    as is Aspen and Johanna. And as Mike says, he calls
    them his favorite teachers. Isn't that an interesting concept? They
    are--I know they're proud of their dad, as is his family, and so am I.
    And so we join the Geisen family in congratulating Mike on his well-
    deserved recognition as the 2008 National Teacher of the Year.
    [Applause] Not yet--[applause]--maybe.
        I do want to say one final thing, and then we'll get Michael up here and let him give a speech. This is the last
    Teacher of the Year ceremony I get to do as President. And as I told
    you, I'm sorry Laura is not here, because she
    would share in this sentiment. This has really been one of the favorite
    events of ours during our time in Washington. You're probably just
    saying, of course, he says that to every event. [Laughter] It's always
    the favorite.
        Actually, this is a fabulous opportunity for us to thank our
    teachers, people who could be doing something else in life and have
    chosen to go in the classroom to lift somebody's life up, to make a
    difference in the future of the country.
        And so I know you know this: You represent teachers from all over
    America. So when I thank you, I'm teaching--I'm thanking teachers from
    all across our country. I appreciate you making our experience here in
    the White House a joyful experience. I thank you for making America a
    more hopeful place. And I ask God's blessings on your work and the work
    of teachers all across America.
        And now the Secretary and I will give
    Michael his award.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:20 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Jennifer, wife, Lisa and Ken,
    parents, Aspen and Johanna, children, and David, brother, of 2008
    National Teacher of the Year Michael Geisen. The transcript released by
    the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Mr.
    Geisen.

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