[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 33 (Monday, August 20, 2001)]
[Pages 1169-1174]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session at Griegos Elementary School 
in Albuquerque

August 15, 2001

    The President. Thank you for the warm greeting. It's an honor to be 
here on the first day of school. I can remember--I think I can still 
remember the excitement I felt when I was--the first day of school as a 
first-grader at Sam Houston Elementary School in Midland, Texas. At 
least I felt--I felt the energy of the kids, and I kind of could relate 
to it. And I want to thank you for giving me a chance to come.
    I want you to know that the idea of coming here was Heather 
Wilson's. We were sitting around the Cabinet Room at the--right outside 
the Oval Office, and she said, ``I understand you're thinking about 
coming to New Mexico.'' I said, ``You bet. I used to spend a lot of time 
there when I was living in Midland, Texas. I think that's exactly where 
I intend to go during my stay out of Washington.'' She said, ``Well, if 
you come to Albuquerque, you better make sure you go to a school, and 
I've got a good one in mind.'' And I said, ``Yes, ma'am.'' [Laughter] 
Here I am. It shows what kind of influence she has as a Congressperson 
representing the great folks of Albuquerque, New Mexico. And I want to 
thank Heather for her service and for her recommendation.
    I'm also really thrilled to be here with the two United States 
Senators from the State of New Mexico, Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, 
both of them fine Americans. I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, 
who is here. Lieutenant Governor Walter Bradley is representing the 
State officials, and I want to thank you for being here, Walter, as 
well.
    I want to thank--I made a pretty darn good pick when I asked Rod 
Paige to come to Washington, DC, from Houston, Texas, to become the 
Secretary of Education. I picked Rod for a reason, and I think Brad 
Allison, the superintendent of schools here, will understand why. I 
wanted somebody who had been in the trenches of public schools, somebody 
who had been on the front line of insisting upon excellence for every 
single child, not somebody who had read it in a textbook or somebody who 
was a theorist but a hands-on Secretary of Education who had cut his 
teeth in making sure that all children, not just a handful of children 
but every child in the school district, received a good education. And 
Rod Paige did just that as the superintendent of the Houston Independent 
School District. He's going to make a great Secretary of Education.
    I was very impressed by Brad Allison's comments to me when I walked 
in. Sometimes people, when they meet the President, get a little tongue-
tied. Not Brad. [Laughter] He said, ``I want you to know, Mr. President, 
our school district is committed to two things, excellence in academics 
for every child and strong character education for every child.'' He 
understands that the two go hand in hand; that a complete child is one 
that not only learns how to read and write and add and subtract but a 
child who also learns the difference between right and wrong. And I 
applaud that holistic approach to education, Brad, and thank you for 
your leadership.
    And I want to thank Eddie Lucero, too, the principal of the school. 
One of the things you learn when you spend a lot of time on public 
education, like I have done as the Governor of Texas and now doing as 
the President, that the quality of education in a particular school 
really depends upon the entrepreneurial spirit of the principal.
    You've got a fine principal here. You know how I know? You've got an 
accountability system that tells us that's the case. We're not guessing 
in New Mexico whether or not children are learning to read. We know, 
because your State is bold enough to adapt a policy that says, show us 
whether or not the children are learning before any child gets left 
behind.
    I just came from a second grade class. I want to thank Gloria--is 
she here, the second grade teacher? She is there. Gloria, thank you for 
your hospitality. Obviously, she has inherited on the first day of 
school a group of former first graders who were well-trained in reading. 
These kids are way beyond ``The Hungry Caterpillar,'' let me put it to 
you that way. [Laughter] They read it better than the President could 
read it. [Laughter]
    But I was very impressed. And I want to thank Gloria, but I also 
want to thank all the teachers, the teachers here in Albuquerque,

[[Page 1170]]

the teachers all across New Mexico and the country, for taking on a very 
important profession.
    We can never thank our teachers enough. One of the things my wife is 
doing--and by the way, I'm sorry she's not here. She is--you would find 
her to be an articulate advocate for making sure every child learns to 
read. After all, she was the public school librarian when I married her. 
She also is going to spend a lot of time encouraging people to become 
teachers, encouraging the young to become teachers, encouraging those, 
for example, who have spent time in the military to take advantage of 
the Troops for Teachers program that we have worked with Pete and Jeff 
on to fund, to encourage people to get back into the classroom, to make 
sure that our kids have got the very best instruction possible.
    I want to thank the teachers. I also want to thank the parents here. 
The truth of the matter is, you're the first teacher for every child. 
It's important for all of us who have been fortunate enough to be a mom 
or a dad to remember the most important job we will ever have is to love 
our children with all our hearts and all our souls. The most important 
job a mom or dad will ever have is to make sure your child is healthy, 
well treated, and well educated.
    Good education starts in the living rooms of the citizens of this 
country. It starts with a mom or a dad saying, ``You turn off the TV and 
practice reading.'' It means, get rid of the tube and get into the 
books. That's where it starts, and I know that's hard. After all, Laura 
and I raised twins, and they struggled to get that TV on. But we spent a 
lot of time reading to them early and insisting that they practice 
reading as they came up. And that's so important for a mom or a dad to 
realize that.
    And after all, reading is the foundation of a good education. I'll 
never forget our friend, Rod, and my friend Phyllis Hunter of Houston, 
Texas. She said, ``Reading is the new civil right.'' I want you to think 
about that concept. Reading is the new civil right. Reading is the 
capacity for some child whose parents may not speak English as a first 
language to be able to succeed in America. If your child can read, your 
child can learn, and we want every child to learn.
    The question I like to ask every child I visit in the classroom is, 
``Are you going to college?'' In this great country, we expect every 
child, regardless of how he or she is raised, to go to college. That's a 
goal we want every child to have. And it starts with making sure every 
single child can read.
    And so one of the things we've done is promoted a reading initiative 
based upon the science of reading, the sound science of what works. 
Laura recently hosted a big seminar in Washington, DC, bringing in folks 
who understand how to connect the brain to the words on the page. 
There's a science to reading. We found in my State that phonics needs to 
be an integral part of a reading curriculum to make sure every single 
child learns to read.
    And one of the things we're doing, as we're working with Pete on our 
budget, is we're tripling the amount of dollars available for reading 
programs all around the country, to help districts develop diagnostic 
tools and determine what little children need help early, before it's 
too late; to make sure our teachers are properly trained in how to teach 
reading; and to make sure there's intervention programs available if a 
child needs extra help.
    Reading is the whole basis for a good education system. And I want 
to applaud this school and your principals and your teachers for 
recognizing that and insisting that every child learn to read. I want 
you to understand, I said ``every child.'' I didn't say ``just a handful 
of children.'' I didn't say ``only those whose parents may make a 
certain income.'' I mean every single child, because, you see, I 
believe--and I know many of you all believe--that every child can read 
in America.
    We must challenge what I call the soft bigotry of low expectations. 
We must make sure the mindset that says certain children can't learn to 
read is eradicated all across America. See, it's so much easier to walk 
into a classroom of tough-to-educate children and say, ``We'll just move 
you through. That's the easiest path.'' And guess who gets hurt the most 
when that happens? Guess who gets affected the most in a system that has 
no accountability as its cornerstone? It's the children, the so-called 
hard-to-educate, because it's easier to quit.

[[Page 1171]]

    And one of the ways to make sure we never quit is, one, for the 
Federal Government to help, which we will do in reading programs. And by 
the way, I'm proud to announce, Mr. Superintendent, that Rod Paige and 
my administration has worked up a grant of $6 million, a 3-year grant to 
the Albuquerque school system for the magnet school programs in your 
school districts.
    No, we can help. And the cornerstone of the education bill that is 
still in the conference--and I'm confident the Members will work hard to 
get it out of conference so I can sign it, sooner rather than later--but 
one of the cornerstones of the bill says that we're going to hold people 
accountable for results.
    I love coming into a school district where I hear the superintendent 
and the principals say, ``Go ahead and measure us. We're confident that 
we've got the right curriculum. We're confident we've got the best 
teachers possible. We're confident that we're teaching our children the 
skills necessary to become productive citizens.''
    It's those school districts and States I get a little nervous about 
that say, ``We don't want any accountability.'' You see, that, to me, 
seems like an excuse to mask failure. We can't mask failure anymore in 
America. Every child is too precious. And so the cornerstone says--of 
reform--says, the States and local jurisdictions will develop the 
accountability systems to let us know.
    And we want to know. Moms and dads need to know. You need to know 
whether your children are learning to read, early. And if they're not, 
we've got to make sure they do. You need to know the results. We 
shouldn't fear accountability in America. We ought to welcome 
accountability. We're a results-oriented society, and when we find 
results that are satisfactory, we'll praise them. But when we find 
children trapped into schools that won't teach and won't change, we've 
got to insist upon something else.
    I refuse to relent. I've heard all the arguments about 
accountability. ``Oh, it's too much Government,'' they argue. Wait a 
minute. If we're spending taxpayers' money, if we're spending the hard-
earned money of people--the money of people, hard-working people--we 
want to know, don't we? Shouldn't we insist upon results if we're 
putting taxes into the coffers of the school system? Yes, of course.
    And then you hear people say, ``It's racist to test.'' Do you know 
what I think? I think it's racist not to test. I think it basically 
says--I think that attitude basically says, ``Hey, some kids can't 
learn. So let's don't test. Let's don't find the truth.'' We need to 
know the truth, and when we find the truth, I can assure you what's 
going to happen: Where reform is needed, reform will happen.
    There's nothing better to get parents involved in schools than to 
measure and report the results. There's nothing better than to have 
public report cards on accountability, so a mom or dad can know exactly 
where the school stands or where the children stand within a school.
    A lot of us discussed the need to get parents more involved, and you 
bet, every teacher wants parents involved. They know it will make their 
job better. But when there's success, a parent will be involved to thank 
the teachers. And when we're not doing as well as we should be, the 
parents will be involved, because every child is precious in a parent's 
eyes.
    We're making good progress around America. School districts like 
yours, Mr. Superintendent, are leading the way. You're showing them what 
can be done. I want to thank the school board members who are here. And 
I want to assure you, although we bring Washington rhetoric to 
Albuquerque, we believe in local control of schools in Washington. We 
believe in empowering the local people.
    We know one size does not fit all when it comes to education. I can 
assure you that the Albuquerque school district is different from the 
Rhode Island school districts, for example. And therefore, we need to 
have more flexibility when it comes to Federal law. So one of the 
cornerstones of the reform package is going to be to consolidate Federal 
programs and entrust local people to make the right decisions on how to 
apply that money.
    We're making good progress. We're making good progress challenging 
the status quo. And that's important, because every child is precious. 
And so, rather than ending my

[[Page 1172]]

speech here, what I thought I would do is maybe answer some questions, 
if you might have any, starting with the students, and if not the 
students, maybe the parents, and if not the parents, maybe the Senators. 
[Laughter] No, forget that. I'm on my vacation. I've been answering 
questions from Senators for--[laughter].
    Anybody got any questions--any of the students? Yes, ma'am.

Medicare

    Q. Are you going to try to do anything for the older people?
    The President. Am I going to--I can't hear you very well.
    Q. Are you going to try to do anything for the olderly (sic) people?
    The President. The older people? ``Olderly people?'' [Laughter] 
Well, the first thing we're going to do is, we're going to make sure 
we've got a health care system that meets their needs. We're going to 
make sure that Medicare--[applause]. And we're beginning to work on a 
Medicare package that says to our seniors, our Nation has made you a 
promise, and we intend to keep the promise, that there needs to be a 
prescription drug benefit as a part of Medicare, and that there needs to 
be more options and more choices for our senior citizens to be able to 
design a health care program to meet their particular needs.
    Medicare is old; it's antiquated; it's ancient. It is not 
responsive, and it needs to be fixed. And one of the dangers about 
fixing Medicare, it becomes what we call a hot political football. 
People try to use the issue to burn somebody who is trying to talk about 
Medicare. But I guess I must think I've got an asbestos suit on, because 
I'm going to talk about the issue until we get it fixed. It's an 
important issue to get it reformed, and I believe we can make some 
progress.
    I met with both Republicans and Democrats on this issue, and there 
seems to be a desire and a will to make sure Medicare is responsive. And 
so I think that's the most important thing we can do pretty quickly for 
the ``olderly.'' [Laughter]
    Yes.

President's Experience as a Student

    Q. We're you a good student in fifth grade?
    The President. In fifth grade? [Laughter] I'm glad you qualified 
that for fifth grade. [Laughter] Yes, I was a good student in fifth 
grade. But I do want to remind you that I went back to my alma mater, 
which was Yale University, and I received an honorary degree. And I was 
giving--I gave a few remarks there, and I said, ``To the honor students, 
I say congratulations. And to you C students, I say, you, too, can be 
President.'' [Laughter]
    But I like to read. I liked to read when I was in the fifth grade, 
and I still like to read. I read a lot. And it's important to read. It's 
really important to pay attention to your moms and dads and your 
teachers who are all encouraging you to practice reading.
    Yes.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

    Q. [Inaudible]
    The President. She's asked about the teacher shortage. There are 
some programs, targeted programs to try to recruit people. One is the 
Troops for Teachers program I mentioned, where we provide teacher-
training money for people getting out of the military to get back in the 
classroom. That's a place where my wife is focusing to encourage those 
who may have had another career to get back in the classroom.
    The truth of the matter is, most incentives, however, are developed 
at the State level. One of the things that people get a little mixed up 
on is, they insist upon local control of schools but expect the Federal 
Government to pay teachers, for example. That's not the Federal role. 
The good folks in New Mexico have got to figure out whether or not you 
want to pay your teachers more.
    One of the most important pieces of legislation I signed as the 
Governor of Texas, we paid each teacher a $3,000 increase in my third 
term as Governor, with the attempt to make sure we retained our teachers 
and kept our teachers in place. I notice they worked on some health 
insurance during the last legislative session. The States are 
responsible for making sure the teachers are well paid.
    Now, the Federal Government, by giving maximum flexibility to monies 
coming back

[[Page 1173]]

to the State, will help States prioritize, will help States have extra 
money, for example, if we can have--let me put it this way. By having 
flexibility, it lets States set the priorities necessary. And if a 
priority in New Mexico is the recruitment and retention of teachers, 
flexibility will help you do that. And so there are some things we can 
do; there's some grant programs. But mainly, it's up to the States to 
recruit.
    Now, one of the things that Laura can do, and I can do, as well, is 
encourage people who are trying to pick out a career to go to teacher 
college and to become a teacher. And so we're going to spend time doing 
that, as well. One of the things we've got to make sure of, however, is 
that our teacher colleges teach teachers how to teach, by using 
curriculum that works. And that's a very important part of--[applause].
    And finally, let me say one other thing. The other thing we can do 
is--we've got teacher-training money in the budget, and one of the 
things that's so important for teachers is to feel like they've got the 
tools necessary to teach. And finally, one other thing we can do for 
retaining teachers is to make sure classrooms are safe. As a part of an 
initiative that I've talked about and that Congress worked on is that 
we've got a teacher and principal and school board liability protection 
in the education bill that says, you cannot be sued for enforcing 
reasonable standards of discipline in classrooms across America. And 
that's a very important part.

The First Lady

    Q. Mr. President, thank you. Welcome to my alma mater. I graduated 
from this school 30 years ago.
    The President. Did you make all A's in the fifth grade? [Laughter]
    Q. All A's, yes, sir. Mr. President, I understand here at Griegos 
there's a vacancy for a librarian. Do you think that Mrs. Bush would be 
interested? [Laughter]
    The President. I'll tell you something about Mrs. Bush, she is--she 
is doing a great job as the First Lady. She loves books; she loves 
children; and it's a perfect combination for her to have been a 
librarian. And one of the things she will do is spend a lot of time 
encouraging the formation of libraries and making sure teachers learn--
know how to teach, and making sure children learn how to read.
    You know another area where we can do a better job of is making sure 
Head Start is an early learning initiative, that Head Start provides 
children just the basics, the basics of learning how to read, so that, 
when they come to Griegos Elementary School as kindergartners, they've 
got a good opportunity to accelerate.
    One of the things we've done is, we've said we're going to have 
accountability programs, starting in the third grade. Well, we've got to 
focus early, to make sure that all students get close to the starting 
line at the same spot so that we don't disadvantage certain schools or 
children based upon the demographics. Head Start is a great place, and 
it's a wonderful program. It's a needed program, but it can do a better 
job of having an education component as a part of its curriculum.
    Yes, sir.

Rio Rancho High School

    Q. Hi, I'm Nicholos Connor, and I go to Rio Rancho High School. 
There are so many things I want to say and ask. Could you come to Rio 
Rancho High tomorrow? [Laughter]
    The President. No. [Laughter] Thank you. But good luck to you. What 
grade are you going to be in?
    Q. I'm going to be a sophomore.
    The President. Sophomore, great. You got a driver's license yet?
    Q. Permit.
    The President. Permit--that's a frightening experience, isn't it? 
[Laughter]
    Let me have one more question; then we've got to go. Yes, sir.

President's Early Work Experience

    Q. What jobs did you have when you were in high school?
    The President. In high school? Let me think about that; it was a 
long time ago. I actually worked on a ranch in Arizona. And I worked in 
a law firm, in a law library. I was a--lawyers read a lot of books, and 
my job was to go around and collect the books after they had read them 
and put them back in the library--[laughter]--a lot of heavy lifting. 
[Laughter]

[[Page 1174]]

    But that's a good question. I think one of the things you ought to 
do when you go to high school is to see if you can't find a variety of 
work experiences. It's important to get as much experience as you can 
prior to entering what they call the real world.
    If you want to be President, I would suggest you become a Governor--
[laughter]--because Governors make decisions, and that's what Presidents 
do. A Governor has got to be somebody who knows how to listen to people, 
just like a President does, and then have the willingness to make a 
tough decision and stand by it.
    And that's why it's such an honor to be the President. I like making 
decisions. But really, you know what I really like? I like being the 
President of the greatest Nation on the face of the Earth, because we've 
got such great people in America.
    Thank you all for having me. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 12:05 p.m. in the gymnasium. In his 
remarks, he referred to Gloria Schatzinger, second grade teacher; and 
Phyllis Hunter, consultant, Texas Reading Initiative.