For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 15, 2001
Remarks by the President to Students and Teachers in Back to School Event
Griegos Elementary School
Albuquerque, New Mexico
12:05 P.M. MDT
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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.) I want to thank the Lt.
Governor who is here. Lt. Governor Walter Bradley is
representing the state officials, and I want to thank you for being
here, Walter, as well. (Applause.)
I want to thank -- I made a pretty darn
good pick when I asked Rod Paige to come to Washington, D.C. from
Houston, Texas, to become the Secretary of
Education. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
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 ad
and subtract, but a child also learns the difference between
right and wrong. And I applaud that holistic approach to
education, Brad, and thank you for your leadership. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
I just came from a 2nd grade class -- I
want to thank Gloria -- is she here, the 2nd 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 1st 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, the teachers all across New Mexico and
the country, for taking on a very important
profession. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) 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, D.C., 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. (Applause.) We must make sure
the mind-set 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.
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 three-year grant to the Albuquerque school
system for the magnet school programs in your school
districts. (Applause.)
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, too 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. (Applause.)
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 -- (applause)
-- 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. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
We're making good progress challenging the
status quo. And that's important, because every child is
precious. And so, rather than ending my 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.
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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
Yes.
Q We're you a good
student in 5th grade?
THE PRESIDENT: In 5th
grade? (Laughter.) I'm glad you qualified that
for 5th grade. (Laughter.) Yes, I was a good
student in 5th 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 and
applause.)
But I like to read. I liked to
read when I was in the 5th 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.
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 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 things 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. (Applause.)
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 5th 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 3rd
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.
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.
Q What jobs did you
have when you were in high school?
THE PRESIDENT: 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.)
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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
Thank you all for having
me. God bless. (Applause.)
END 12:30 P.M. MDT
|