[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

[[Page 529]]

of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
these remarks.