[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 17 (Monday, April 30, 2007)]
[Pages 527-529]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks Honoring the 2007 National and State Teachers of the Year
April 26, 2007
She forgot to add ``and loves a teacher.'' [Laughter] I made a good
move when I married a teacher, and Laura and I are honored to welcome
you here to the Rose Garden. Thanks for coming, and thanks for teaching.
This is a special day for all who care deeply about education,
because we fully understand that without a good teacher it's hard to
achieve national goals and objectives. And so the Teacher of the Year
ceremony is a chance to pay homage to some really fine public servants
and great Americans, so we welcome you.
I appreciate the Secretary of Education joining us. I want to thank
Congressman John Boozman and his wife, Cathy, from Arkansas. We thank
Jay Inslee, from Washington, for joining us; thank you, Congressman.
Dennis Moore and Stephanie, from Kansas, have joined us, as has Rick
Larsen from Washington. I wonder why all these Washington Congressmen
have joined us. [Laughter]
Laura and I just had a chance to thank every State Teacher of the
Year. It's an honor to welcome you to the Oval Office. It is a shrine to
democracy and a wonderful place to give our personal thanks to a job
well done.
I do want to recognize the finalists this year: Justin Minkel from
Arkansas; Josh Anderson from Kansas; Tamara Tiong from New Mexico;
Andrea Peterson, the Teacher of the Year. And we've got to recognize
Joel, the husband of the Teacher of the Year. Thank you, Joel.
[Laughter] And mom and dad--I'm going to say something about mom and dad
in a minute.
I want to thank Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of
Chief State School Officers, for sponsoring this event. Rhonda Mims, the
president of ING Foundation, Tom Waldron, the executive vice president
of ING, and all the chief state school officers here today, thanks for
coming. Thanks for honoring the teachers.
When you really think about it, few professionals have as direct an
impact on our future as our teachers. Teachers are among our children's
first role models, counselors, and friends. Teachers awaken young minds,
and teachers encourage ingenuity and unleash fertile imaginations.
It's demanding work to be a teacher, even during its best moments.
Sometimes, teachers come across students who require them to summon
every last ounce of patience and understanding. When those times come, I
just ask you remember, one day that student may become the President.
[Laughter]
We ask a lot of our teachers, and we owe them a lot in return. One
of the first priorities as President was to work with members of both
parties to pass what's called the No Child Left Behind Act. I am--I
can't tell you how important this Act is to make sure every child learns
to read, write, and add and subtract. The Act insists upon high
standards, standards that you all set in your classrooms. Otherwise, you
wouldn't be a Teacher of the Year. It says that it's important to
measure to determine whether or not our children are learning and
meeting standards. Measurement is not a tool to punish; measurement is a
tool to correct and reward.
The No Child Left Behind Act is working. In reading, 9-year-olds
have made more progress in 5 years than the previous 28 years combined.
A President couldn't report that to the Nation unless we actually
measured to determine whether that was true. In math, 9-year-olds and
13-year-olds have earned their highest test scores ever. In both reading
and math, African American and Hispanic students are scoring higher and
beginning to close the achievement gap with their peers.
The structure of the No Child Left Behind Act, the strategy of the
Act makes a lot of sense. And that's why the Congress needs to
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reauthorize this good law. But the Act wouldn't be working without
really dedicated teachers making sure our children learn.
Teaching is more than a profession; it's a calling. And that calling
came early to our Teacher of the Year. Andrea Patterson--Peterson knows
the importance of education in her life. After all, as she explained to
me in the Oval Office, her first role model was her dad, who has taught
for more than 30 years. And we welcome you. And we congratulate you on
being such a fine dad that your daughter stands here in the Rose Garden
as the National Teacher of the Year.
Andrea has got two sisters-in-law who are teachers and a mother-in-
law who is a teacher. This is a family that really cares about good
grammar. [Laughter] I probably wouldn't do all that well at the dinner
table. [Laughter] When you come from a family of teachers, you tend to
develop a life-long appreciation of learning, and more importantly, it
enables you to find creative ways to instill that appreciation in
others.
Andrea has done some--a lot of amazing work as a music teacher at
Monte Cristo Elementary School in Granite Falls, Washington. In her 10
years at Monte Cristo, she has built an impressive music program, almost
from scratch. She helped the school purchase instruments, organized an
after-school choir, and helped obtain computer programs that allow
students to compose their own music. She has integrated music education
into other subjects. She's taken novels that children were reading in
other classes and turned them into musical productions. She's used
musical notes to explain fractions. She's helped students reach out to
the community by developing a music program that honored local veterans.
She's used music to reach students who are not doing well in the
traditional classroom setting.
She's more than a music teacher. One parent said of Andrea this:
``Mrs. Peterson is passionate about her job, and it shows.'' In fact,
like any good teacher, Andrea juggles responsibilities that would
exhaust all of us. For example, in the past few months, she's taught
classes full time, she carried out her obligations as Washington State
Teacher of the Year, and took part in the National Teacher of the Year
activities. And to top it all off, 4 weeks ago she gave birth to a
daughter named Faith. That's what we call multitasking. [Laughter] Faith
probably doesn't know it yet, but she's lucky to have a mom and a dad
like the Petersons.
There are a few other teachers who I think deserve mention today,
and those are the teachers at Virginia Tech. They did all they could to
protect their students from a day of horror, and they're doing all they
can to help them heal in the aftermath. One teacher gave his life by
using his body to barricade a classroom door while his students jumped
to safety from windows. Americans everywhere hold the teachers and
students and parents of the Virginia Tech community in our thoughts and
in our prayers.
This tragedy has affected at least one of the teachers here in a
very personal way, and that would be Susan Evans, who earned her
master's degree at Virginia Tech, and we thank you for wearing the
Virginia Tech scarf today.
Our Nation is still seeking to make sense of this tragedy, and so
are America's children. In fact, one of your hardest jobs is to explain
horrific acts to the students. It's a hard job, but I want to thank
America's teachers for comforting and encouraging our Nation's youth
during difficult moments such as the tragedy at Virginia Tech.
We're fortunate to have teachers like we do in America, men and
women who are drawn to the classroom with a desire to serve something
larger than themselves. So on behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you
for your hard work and your dedication. I thank you for preparing our
young children for the challenges of the 21st century. And I thank you
for all you do every day to help build a better America.
Congratulations, and welcome to the White House.
Note: The President spoke at 10:17 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to Thomas P. Waldron, executive vice
president, human resources and brand, ING North America Insurance Corp.;
and Susan Evans, 2007 Virginia State Teacher of the Year. The transcript
released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks
of the First Lady, who introduced the President. The Office
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of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
these remarks.