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Internet Message Format | 1993-08-06 | 16KB

From [e-mail]  Thu Aug  5 23:14:33 1993
To: [e-mail],
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 18:53-0400
From: The White House <[e-mail]>
Subject: President's Remarks at Teachers' Hall of Fame  8/5/93

                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  August 5, 1993


                       REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
              IN NATIONAL TEACHERS HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

                           The Rose Garden


4:20 P.M. EDT

         THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and good
afternoon to all of you.  I'm sorry we started a little late, but I
think you know I've been in there on the telephone to the Congress.

         It's a great pleasure to welcome all of you here,
especially the inductees, into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.
I'd also like to thank the representatives of Emporia State
University, the Emporia Public Schools, and the city of Emporia,
Kansas, for all their hard work in establishing the National Teachers
Hall of Fame.  Recognizing our teachers is a wonderful idea, and I
hope I can help to do it every year I'm here.

         We're here to honor the spirit and the dedication of
teaching that motivates this wonderful group of educators, people who
every day in small towns and large cities bring to our young people
the gift of learning.

         Every one of us has a memory of a teacher who literally
changed our lives.  A good teacher does more than pass on
information.  A good teacher inspires a thirst for learning that
lasts a lifetime, instilling confidence, conveying values, shaping
our understanding of the world around us.  I'm reminded of a quote
from Henry Brooks Adams:  "A teacher affects eternity; he can never
tell where his influence stops."

         The 10 men and women we recognize today, chosen from
hundreds of nominees, are examples of our nation's finest teachers.
Not only do they bring a special gift for teaching, they've all made
other contributions to their communities.  Each of them has a unique
style of teaching and a vision for the role of education that must be
played now and well into the 21st century.

         I'd like to acknowledge each of these inductees,
beginning the ones from 1992.  First, Sheryl Abshire from Lake
Charles, Louisiana.  She served -- I'm going to see if I can
pronounce this, and I'm from Arkansas, I should be able to pronounce
this -- she served the Calcasieu -- is that right?  Calcasieu Parish
Schools for 18 years as an elementary school teacher and
library/media specialist.  Today she is the principal of Westwood
Elementary in Westlake, Louisiana.  She's made technology a part of
the total elementary curriculum and has brought such innovative
learning projects to her state that the President of the Louisiana
Association of Teachers credits her for "setting the standard in
Louisiana for instructional technology."

         The second winner is Anna Alfiero of Norwhichtown,
Connecticut, who has taught science and math at Clark Lane Junior
High in Waterford, Connecticut for 31 years.  She has found new ways
to bring economics to the classroom and to make math "real" to her
enthusiastic students.  This is particularly important because one of
our nation's most pressing educational challenges is to improve the
math skills of the next generation.

         Third is Helen Case from El Dorado, Kansas.  She
attended a one-room rural school in the early 1900s.  I hate to say
that.  (Laughter.)  And she has dedicated her life to serving others.
She began teaching at the tender age of 17 and went on the teach in
the Kansas public school system for 45 years.  She integrated
innovative teaching methods into her curriculum long before they
became widely popular.  I hear she used to hold mock sessions of
Congress, national party conventions, and elections in her classes.
Maybe she can give me a tip or two today.  (Laughter.)

         I'd next like to acknowledge Shirley Cunningham Naples
from Detroit, Michigan.  During each of her 23 years in the schools
of Ferndale, Michigan, Mrs. Naples issued a challenge to her students
to be the best.  And every year they did just that because she did.
Parents in Ferndale started planning as early as kindergarten for
their children to be in her class because of the personal commitment
she made to the education of each and every one of her students.  She
also contributes her teaching skills to help immigrant boat children
become successful English-speaking members of the school community.

         Next is Joseph York of Memphis, Tennessee, who teaches
senior English at Adamsville Junior-Senior High School.  Practically
no one in his community is beyond his reach.  In addition to teaching
his regular students during the day, he tutors other teachers and
children and teaches four nights a week at area universities,
including the regional state prison.  This incredible energy and
devotion to teaching stems from his belief that a student's learning
ability is directly related to his or her self image.

         Let's give them all a hand.  (Applause.)

         And now, the 1993 inductees:  Leslie Black from
Northport, Alabama.  During her 25 years of teaching, Mrs. Black has
been recognized for her efforts to strengthen and encourage a better
link between home and school, something that I believe very strongly
in, as I had experience in my state with a preschool program that my
wife brought to Arkansas called the home instruction program for
preschool youngsters.  Mrs. Black has brought individualized
instruction to the classroom and has worked to integrate music, the
arts, and cultural awareness into the daily curriculum.  She was also
awarded the 1992 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics

         Next is Stewart R. Bogdanoff of Yorktown Heights, New
York.  For 28 years a physical education teacher for the Lakeland
Central School District in Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.  He's
helped develop the physical fitness curriculum and after school
programs that not only enriches the lives of students but also
provides stimulating learning environments as well.  He's dedicated
countless hours to working with disabled athletes and received the
Point of Light award from President Bush for his dedication to
community projects.

         I'd like to say just parenthetically, I become more and
more concerned about the physical health of our people, and we enter
into this great debate about national health care.  I think it is
very important that we not overlook the fact that it is my judgment a
real mistake to cut back on physical education for all students in
schools at a time when we're trying to build better health habits in
all the American people.

         Next, Ida Daniel Dark of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
During 31 years of teaching music, she has dedicated -- been
dedicated to providing a culturally rich learning environment to all
of her students, including physically and mentally challenged
children.  She's developed a music curriculum for severely and
profoundly impaired children, which is now being used throughout the
United States and Canada and has established a program that allows
inner city students to attend theater, art and music presentations on
the weekends.

         Next is James K. Jackson, Sr. of Wauconda, Illinois.  A
true visionary, an industrial education teacher at Mundelein High
School, who's made students and parents part of his dream of building
and flying airplanes.  He's found imaginative ways to teach
technology advanced subjects that can help students prepare for the
rigors of a rapidly changing world.  His students built the airplane
that he flew to the National Teachers Hall of Fame induction ceremony
in Emporia.  Now, that's real confidence in your students.
(Laughter.)  Is that true?  (Laughter.)

         And finally, Christine Lungren-Maddalone of Long Beach,
California.  An elementary teacher at John Greenleaf Whittier
Elementary School in Long Beach.  After the Los Angeles riots in
1992, she set up after school self-esteem enhancement classes for her
students and talked to them about the need for a responsible change
in the aftermath of the riots.  She tries to teach her students to
learn from life's experiences and has proven that all children, when
given the chance, can succeed.

         Let's give them a hand, too.  (Applause.)  Good for you.

         I do want to say that in recognizing and honoring these
teachers, I know they would want us to, through them, honor the
contributions of teachers throughout our nation.  These teachers are
reminders that we must allow teachers to do what they do best, to
teach.  And we must struggle here in Washington and in every state
capital and in all the central offices of all the school districts to
empower teachers to teach and not to break them down with the burdens
of bureaucracy and requirements that have nothing to do with whether
their children can learn.  We have to allow teachers and principals
and parents to make more of their own decisions, to set the agendas,
and to chart the future course of their schools and their children's
education with clear standards so they can know whether our children
are doing as they should in a tough, global environment.

         We, in Washington, are trying to recommit ourselves to
making the federal government a real partner in education.  That's
why Secretary Riley and I have worked so hard to make the national
education goals the foundation of true reform.  We have to make sure
that our children start school ready to learn and have the
opportunity to succeed.  And we have to challenge all of them to meet
rigorous, world class standards of learning.  We owe this to them, to
their future, and to all the rest of us as well.  That's why I'm so
proud to be here to honor the achievements and dedication of these
wonderful teachers.

         I thank them for coming and I'd now like to invite here
Robert Glennen, the President of the National Teachers Hall of Fame,
to the stage to make a few remarks.  Mr. Glennen.  (Applause.)

                              * * * * *

         Q      Mr. President, can we ask you what you're telling
these congress members you're on the phone with, what appeals are you
making, and what more can you do?

         THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we've done a lot of work today to
try to sketch out what will happen in the next couple of months after
this process.  And the argument I'm making is that this is the
beginning not the end of our efforts to have responsible budgeting.
There will be one more round of budget cuts.  There will be the
unveiling of the Vice President's report on reinventing government,
which will have billions of dollars in further savings that can be
achieved.  There will be the opportunity to control health care costs
in the context of the health care reform bill in a way that will not
be unfair to older people on Medicare.

         So, what I am suggesting to them is that this is clearly
the best chance for real deficit reduction, for a fair apportionment
of the spending cuts and revenue increases, and for an economic plan
that will grow the economy.  And no one I have talked to, including
people who say that they may not vote for it, has suggested that
anybody believes seriously that a better result will occur if the
bill does not pass.  So I feel pretty good.

         Q         convene a special conference to find more budget
cuts or a session of Congress, similar to what Kerrey is proposing?

         THE PRESIDENT:  I've been working with them for two or
three days.  And I'm very much open to that.  We have to do something
like that anyway to deal with the Vice President's reinventing
government report.  And what we had planned to do -- what we had
planned to do was to suggest that there be a bipartisan commission,
including members of both parties of Congress, to review these
recommendations.  So we can certainly accommodate this.

         This is -- what I keep trying to tell all the members is
this is the beginning of this process, not the end.  There's a whole
lot more work to be done.  We've just been here seven months.  And I
think that -- you know, finally they've got somebody here who's
serious about responsible budgeting instead of just talking about it.
And the argument I'm making to them is there is no alternative.  And
every alternative we saw from the other side had less deficit
reduction, more bogus spending cuts, and did not ask the wealthy to
pay their fair share.  And there were no economic growth incentives.
And after all, the whole purpose of this is to generate jobs and
revitalize the economy.  So I feel pretty good about it.

         Q      Have you spoken to Senator Kerrey, sir?  And
whether you have or not, do you know where he is on this?

         THE PRESIDENT:  I'm going to follow my ironclad rule on
this.  I'm going to let the members speak for themselves.  Yes, I
have spoken to him.

         Q         Sarajevo, it looks like the siege is getting
worse and may not be able to wait until Monday.  Do the allies and
the United States need to move it up to protect the city before it
falls?

         THE PRESIDENT:  I can't answer that now, because I
haven't been briefed on it.  But I may have something to say about it
later.  I'm sorry.

         Q      Have any of the members you've spoken with made it
a prerequisite that there be a so-called budget session or whatever
for them to vote for this package?

         THE PRESIDENT:  Well, let me say, I have offered a whole
series of things that are consistent with what I have believed in all
along.  I mean, a lot of the members want a separate bill which
contains the budget control measures that the House adopted, that the
Senate rules wouldn't permit.  They want further opportunities to
shave the budget, which I have committed to and which I strongly
support -- have from the beginning.  They want opportunities for
other issues to be debated between now and the end of the year,
relating to the structure of the budget, all of which I have agreed
to.

         So I think there is no question here -- there is no
serious suggestion that we could get a better result if this bill
does not pass.  So I think that we've got a very good chance to pass
it.  But, you know, I never predict until they vote.

         Thank you.

         Q      Any Republican votes, Mr. President?

         THE PRESIDENT:  A lot of them want for it.

         Q      How do you know that?

         THE PRESIDENT:  -- several of them say they'd like to
vote for it --

         Q      Who did you talk to today -- round number?

         THE PRESIDENT:  I don't know, a bunch.

         Q         today, what do you say to the people, the
businessmen who are now complaining about this new mandate?

         THE PRESIDENT:  That if we're going to be pro-work and
pro-family, we have to make it possible for people to succeed as
parents and as workers.  We cannot force people to choose between the
two.  Most parents have no choice but to work.  But parenting is
still the most important job of society.

         And all these nations with which we compete provide for
those kind of family supports.  We were one of the very few nations
in the world that had achieved any kind of standard of living that
didn't provide this basic protection for families.  I think it will
increase productivity in the work force, increase the morale of
workers, and people will make a lot more money out of it than it will
cost them by sticking up for the families.

                                 END4:45 P.M. EDT