    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 4 (Monday, January 27, 1997)]
    [Pages 73-74]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks at Stanley Field Middle School in Northbrook, Illinois

    January 22, 1997

        The President. I was just thinking, if I had had a class like this
    when I was their age, I might have gotten into a different line of work.
    [Laughter] This is fascinating. Thank you very much, guys. I'm glad you
    learned about Newton's law of doing this, and I'm glad you learned how
    to do this.
        I just thought of something--you should know too, one of you made
    the point about conservation of materials. Interestingly enough, in many
    manufacturing enterprises today, that's one of the major sources of
    adding productivity and profitability to the enterprise. Being
    environmentally responsible is just learning how to continue to get more
    and more and more output out of fewer and fewer raw materials. And that
    applies not only to stable materials like that but also to energy input.
    So a big part of what technology and learning is doing to all kinds of
    production is allowing people to produce more output of products and
    services with fewer material input. Very interesting, so I'm glad you
    did it.

    [At this point, Secretary of Education Richard Riley commented on the
    standards in education and then the students continued their
    demonstration.]

        The President. The one thing I would say to you--we have to go, but
    you are going to live in the most exciting period of time in human
    history, in terms of what people can do with their minds and their
    imaginations and what people can do on their own. It's going to be a
    very, very exciting time. But it will only be an exciting time for
    people who can access it. That's why the learning is so important.
        Someday you may be building--one of you may be building trains that
    go 500 miles an hour, that people get in, and therefore, then, they
    don't pollute the air. And they all travel together so they can read
    while they're studying during their commute times. You may be doing
    things you can't even imagine now because of what you're learning.
        And that's the thing I would emphasize. You can't imagine what
    someday you might be doing with what you're just now learning here. And
    I envy you in that way. I think that the 21st century will be a time of
    enormous possibility for young people like you, and all you really need
    to tap it is a great education. And I'm glad you're getting it.
        Thank you.
        Q. I know they can do it. Well, thank you so much. We're very
    pleased to have you come.
        The President. I'm glad to see you. Thank you.
        Q. Thank you for coming.
        The President. I wish I could see all the cars driving. What you
    should do, you should

    [[Page 74]]

    make a movie of this. You should have everybody--inspire classes all
    over America.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:05 a.m. in the eighth grade classroom.