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Skriven 2007-04-26 23:30:44 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704262) for Thu, 2007 Apr 26
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President and Mrs. Bush Meet with 2007 National and State Teachers of the
Year
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary April 26, 2007

President and Mrs. Bush Meet with 2007 National and State Teachers of the
Year Rose Garden

˙ /news/releases/2007/04/20070426-2.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio ˙˙En Espa¤ol

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Education


10:17 A.M. EDT

MRS. BUSH: Congratulations, Andrea. Congratulations to you. Congratulations
to all our Teachers of the Year.

Today as we celebrate your accomplishments, we honor excellent teachers
across our nation for their dedication and hard work. I know the
characteristics of great teachers. You have extraordinary energy and
enthusiasm and superb organizational skills. School people are "people
people." You have the ability to interact and respect hundreds of different
personalities every single day.

I've seen this energy and enthusiasm, not to mention great resolve, in the
teachers I've met across the Gulf Coast. Today gives me a chance to thank
those teachers who have worked to reopen their schools as quickly as
possible. Gulf Coast teachers have comforted students in stable, nurturing
classrooms, even as they're living in FEMA trailers themselves. These
teachers, and the outstanding teachers who are here today, remind us that
teaching is the greatest public service. (Applause.)

Across our country, excellent teachers show children that there's an adult
who cares about them, respects them, and believes in them. It's a lesson
that stays with students for a lifetime.

Now I'd like to introduce someone I know who cares for, respects, and
believes in our teachers: Ladies and gentlemen, my husband, George W. Bush.
(Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: 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 and applause.)

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. (Applause.) Josh Anderson, from Kansas. (Applause.) Tamara Tiong,
from New Mexico. (Applause.) Andrea Peterson, the Teacher of the Year.
(Applause.) And we've got to recognize Joel, the husband of the Teacher of
the Year. Thank you, Joel. (Laughter and applause.) 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. (Applause.)

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 and
applause.)

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, nine-year-olds have
made more progress in five 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, nine-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 reauthorize this
good law. But the Act wouldn't be working without really dedicated teachers
making sure -- 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 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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)

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. (Applause.) 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, four weeks ago she gave birth to a daughter named Faith. (Applause.)
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.
(Applause.)

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. (Applause.)

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. (Applause.)

END 10:30 A.M. EDT

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