    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 31 (Monday, August 9, 1993)]
    [Pages 1580-1583]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Honoring Teachers Hall of Fame Inductees and an Exchange With
    Reporters

     August 5, 1993

        The President. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and good afternoon to all
    of you. I'm sorry we started a little late, but I think you know I've
    been in there on the telephone to the Congress.
        It's a great pleasure to welcome all of you here, especially the
    inductees into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. I'd also like to
    thank the representatives of Emporia State University, the Emporia
    public schools, and the city of Emporia, Kansas, for all their hard work
    in establishing the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Recognizing our
    teachers is a wonderful idea, and I hope I can help to do it every year
    I'm here.
        We're here to honor the spirit and the dedication of teaching that
    motivates this wonderful group of educators, people who every day in
    small towns and large cities bring to our young people the gift of
    learning. Every one of us has a memory of a teacher who literally
    changed our lives. A good teacher does more than pass on information. A
    good teacher inspires a thirst for learning that lasts a lifetime,
    instilling confidence, conveying values, shaping our understanding of
    the world around us. I'm reminded of a quote from Henry Brooks Adams:
    ``A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence
    stops.''
        The 10 men and women we recognize today, chosen from hundreds of
    nominees, are examples of our Nation's finest teachers. Not only do they
    bring a special gift for teaching, they've all made other contributions
    to their communities. Each of them has a unique style of teaching and a
    vision for the role of education that must be played now and well into
    the 21st century.
        I'd like to acknowledge each of these inductees, beginning with the
    ones from 1992. First, Sheryl Abshire from Lake Charles, Louisiana. She
    served--I'm going to see if I can pronounce this, and I'm from Arkansas,
    I should be able to pronounce this--she served the Calcasieu--is that
    right?--Calcasieu Parish schools for 18 years as an elementary school
    teacher and library/media specialist. Today she is the principal of
    Westwood Elementary in Westlake, Louisiana. She's made technology a part
    of the total elementary curriculum and has brought such innovative
    learning projects to her State that the president of the Louisiana
    Association of Teachers credits her for setting the standard in
    Louisiana for instructional technology.
        The second winner is Anna Alfiero of Norwichtown, Connecticut, who
    has taught science and math at Clark Lane Junior High in Waterford,
    Connecticut, for 31 years. She has found new ways to bring economics to
    the classroom and to make math real to her enthusiastic students. This
    is particularly important because one of our Nation's most pressing
    educational challenges is to improve the math skills of the next
    generation.
        Third is Helen Case from El Dorado, Kansas. She attended a one-room
    rural school in the early 1900's. I hate to say that. [Laughter] And she
    has dedicated her life to serving others. She began teaching at the
    tender age of 17 and went on to teach in the Kansas public school system
    for 45 years. She integrated innovative teaching methods into her
    curriculum long before they became widely popular. I hear she used to
    hold mock sessions of Congress, national party conventions, and
    elections in her classes. Maybe she can give me a tip or two today.
    [Laughter]
        I'd next like to acknowledge Shirley Cunningham Naples from Detroit,
    Michigan. During each of her 23 years in the schools of Ferndale,
    Michigan, Mrs. Naples issued a challenge to her students to be the best.
    And every year they did just that, because she did. Parents in Ferndale
    started planning as early as kindergarten for their children to be in
    her class because of the personal commitment she made to the education
    of each and every one of her students. She also contributes her teaching
    skills to help immigrant boat children become successful English-
    speaking members of the school community.

    [[Page 1581]]

        Next is Joseph York of Memphis, Tennessee, who teaches senior
    English at Adamsville Junior-Senior High School. Practically no one in
    his community is beyond his reach. In addition to teaching his regular
    students during the day, he tutors other teachers and children and
    teaches 4 nights a week at area universities, including the regional
    State prison. This incredible energy and devotion to teaching stems from
    his belief that a student's learning ability is directly related to his
    or her self image.
        Let's give them all a hand. [Applause]
        And now, the 1993 inductees: Leslie Black from Northport, Alabama.
    During her 25 years of teaching, Mrs. Black has been recognized for her
    efforts to strengthen and encourage a better link between home and
    school, something that I believe very strongly in, as I had experience
    in my State with a preschool program that my wife brought to Arkansas
    called the home instruction program for preschool youngsters. Mrs. Black
    has brought individualized instruction to the classroom and has worked
    to integrate music, the arts, and cultural awareness into the daily
    curriculum. She was also awarded the 1992 Presidential Award for
    Excellence in mathematics.
        Next is Stewart R. Bogdanoff of Yorktown Heights, New York. For 28
    years a physical education teacher for the Lakeland Central School
    District in Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, he's helped develop the
    physical fitness curriculum and after-school programs that not only
    enriches the lives of students but also provides stimulating learning
    environments as well. He's dedicated countless hours to working with
    disabled athletes and received the Point of Light award from President
    Bush for his dedication to community projects.
        I'd like to say just parenthetically, I become more and more
    concerned about the physical health of our people as we enter into this
    great debate about national health care. I think it is very important
    that we not overlook the fact that it is my judgment a real mistake to
    cut back on physical education for all students in schools at a time
    when we're trying to build better health habits in all the American
    people.
        Next, Ida Daniel Dark of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During 31 years
    of teaching music, she has been dedicated to providing a culturally rich
    learning environment to all of her students, including physically and
    mentally challenged children. She's developed a music curriculum for
    severely and profoundly impaired children which is now being used
    throughout the United States and Canada and has established a program
    that allows inner-city students to attend theater, art, and music
    presentations on the weekends.
        Next is James K. Jackson, Sr., of Wauconda, Illinois, a true
    visionary, an industrial education teacher at Mundelein High School
    who's made students and parents part of his dream of building and flying
    airplanes. He's found imaginative ways to teach technology-advanced
    subjects that can help students prepare for the rigors of a rapidly
    changing world. His students built the airplane that he flew to the
    National Teachers Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Emporia. Now,
    that's real confidence in your students. [Laughter] Is that true?
        And finally, Christine Lungren-Maddalone of Long Beach, California,
    an elementary teacher at John Greenleaf Whittier Elementary School in
    Long Beach. After the Los Angeles riots in 1992, she set up after-school
    self-esteem enhancement classes for her students and talked to them
    about the need for a responsible change in the aftermath of the riots.
    She tries to teach her students to learn from life's experiences and has
    proven that all children, when given the chance, can succeed.
        Let's give them a hand, too. [Applause] Good for you.
        I do want to say that in recognizing and honoring these teachers, I
    know they would want us to, through them, honor the contributions of
    teachers throughout our Nation. These teachers are reminders that we
    must allow teachers to do what they do best, to teach. And we must
    struggle here in Washington and in every State capital and in all the
    central offices of all the school districts to empower teachers to teach
    and not to break them down with the burdens of bureaucracy and
    requirements that have nothing to do with whether their children can

    [[Page 1582]]

    learn. We have to allow teachers and principals and parents to make more
    of their own decisions, to set the agendas and to chart the future
    course of their schools and their children's education with clear
    standards so they can know whether our children are doing as they should
    in a tough, global environment.

        We in Washington are trying to recommit ourselves to making the
    Federal Government a real partner in education. That's why Secretary
    Riley and I have worked so hard to make the national education goals the
    foundation of true reform. We have to make sure that our children start
    school ready to learn and have the opportunity to succeed. And we have
    to challenge all of them to meet rigorous, world-class standards of
    learning. We owe this to them, to their future, and to all the rest of
    us as well. That's why I'm so proud to be here to honor the achievements
    and dedication of these wonderful teachers.

        I thank them for coming, and I'd now like to invite here Robert
    Glennen, the President of the National Teachers Hall of Fame, to the
    stage to make a few remarks. Mr. Glennen.

    [At this point, Mr. Glennen made brief remarks.]

    Economic Program

        Q. Mr. President, can we ask you what you're telling these Congress
    Members you're on the phone with, what appeals are you making, and what
    more can you do?

        The President. Well, we've done a lot of work today to try to sketch
    out what will happen in the next couple of months after this process.
    And the argument I'm making is that this is the beginning, not the end,
    of our efforts to have responsible budgeting. There will be one more
    round of budget cuts. There will be the unveiling of the Vice
    President's report on reinventing Government, which will have billions
    of dollars in further savings that can be achieved. There will be the
    opportunity to control health care costs in the context of the health
    care reform bill in a way that will not be unfair to older people on
    Medicare.

        So, what I am suggesting to them is that this is clearly the best
    chance for real deficit reduction, for a fair apportionment of the
    spending cuts and revenue increases and for an economic plan that will
    grow the economy. And no one I have talked to, including people who say
    that they may not vote for it, has suggested that anybody believes
    seriously that a better result will occur if the bill does not pass. So
    I feel pretty good.

        Q. ----convene a special conference to find more budget cuts or a
    session of Congress, similar to what Kerrey is proposing?

        The President. I've been working with them for 2 or 3 days. And I'm
    very much open to that. We have to do something like that anyway to deal
    with the Vice President's reinventing Government report. And what we had
    planned to do was to suggest that there be a bipartisan commission,
    including Members of both parties of Congress, to review these
    recommendations. So we can certainly accommodate this.

        What I keep trying to tell all the Members is this is the beginning
    of this process, not the end. There's a whole lot more work to be done.
    We've just been here 7 months. You know, finally they've got somebody
    here who's serious about responsible budgeting instead of just talking
    about it. And the argument I'm making to them is there is no
    alternative. And every alternative we saw from the other side had less
    deficit reduction, more bogus spending cuts, and did not ask the wealthy
    to pay their fair share. And there were no economic growth incentives.
    And after all, the whole purpose of this is to generate jobs and
    revitalize the economy. So I feel pretty good about it.

        Q. Have you spoken to Senator Kerrey, sir? And whether you have or
    not, do you know where he is on this?

        The President. I'm going to follow my ironclad rule on this. I'm
    going to let the Members speak for themselves. Yes, I have spoken to
    him.

    Bosnia

        Q. ----Sarajevo, it looks like the siege is getting worse and may
    not be able to wait until Monday. Do the allies and the United States
    need to move it up to protect the city before it falls?

        The President. I can't answer that now, because I haven't been
    briefed on it. But I

    [[Page 1583]]

    may have something to say about it later. I'm sorry.

    Economic Program

        Q. Have any of the Members you've spoken with made it a prerequisite
    that there be a so-called budget session or whatever for them to vote
    for this package?

        The President. Well, let me say, I have offered a whole series of
    things that are consistent with what I have believed in all along. I
    mean, a lot of the Members want a separate bill which contains the
    budget control measures that the House adopted, that the Senate rules
    wouldn't permit. They want further opportunities to shave the budget,
    which I have committed to and which I strongly support, have from the
    beginning. They want opportunities for other issues to be debated
    between now and the end of the year relating to the structure of the
    budget, all of which I have agreed to. So I think there is no question
    here--there is no serious suggestion that we could get a better result
    if this bill does not pass. So I think that we've got a very good chance
    to pass it. But you know, I never predict until they vote.

        Thank you.

        Q. Any Republican votes, Mr. President?

        The President. A lot of them want for it.

        Q. How do you know that?

        The President. ----several of them say they'd like to vote for it--
    --

        Q. Who did you talk to today--round number?

        The President. I don't know, a bunch.

    Family and Medical Leave Act

        Q. ----today, what do you say to the people, the businessmen who are
    now complaining about this new mandate?

        The President. That if we're going to be prowork and profamily, we
    have to make it possible for people to succeed as parents and as
    workers. We cannot force people to choose between the two. Most parents
    have no choice but to work. But parenting is still the most important
    job of society.

        And all these nations with which we compete provide for those kind
    of family supports. We were one of the very few nations in the world
    that had achieved any kind of standard of living that didn't provide
    this basic protection for families. I think it will increase
    productivity in the work force, increase the morale of workers, and
    people will make a lot more money out of it than it will cost them by
    sticking up for the families.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:20 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.