THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Rod. Thank you very much. I want to
welcome you all to the White House and the spectacular Rose Garden.
I'm a part of a proud tradition: for 25 years American Presidents --
for 50 years, American Presidents have been privileged to present the
National Teacher of the Year Awards.
The ceremony not only honors a single individual; the ceremony
honors an entire profession. Teachers make extraordinary contributions
to the communities in which they lived and, therefore, make
extraordinary contributions to our entire country. We give our
teachers a great responsibility: to shape the minds and hopes of our
children. We owe them our thanks and our praise and our support.
I wish the First Lady would be here today, she is -- she reminds
me on a daily basis of the importance of being a teacher. When I
married her she was a public school librarian. She really didn't care
for politics much -- (laughter) -- didn't particularly care for
politicians. (Laughter.) But I'm so glad she said "yes" when I asked
her to marry me. She's a great First Lady and loves the idea of
teaching. And one of her jobs is going to go around the country and
remind people of the noble profession of teaching and encourage people
to become teachers.
I appreciate Secretary Rod Paige. I've known Rod a long time;
we're fellow Texans. When I picked somebody to be the Secretary of
Education, I didn't want some theorist, I wanted somebody that had
actually been in the trenches, who understood the importance of public
education and how to make it work. And I wanted somebody that had a
passion to make sure that no child got left behind in America. And I
found the right man in my friend, Rod Paige, to be the Secretary of
Education. (Applause.)
SECRETARY PAIGE: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank two members of the United States
Congress: Judd Gregg, with whom I worked closely on the education bill
we passed. He's from the State of New Hampshire. And Todd Tiahrt from
the state of Kansas. Thank you both for coming. (Applause.)
I just had the honor of having my picture taken in the Oval Office
with 57 teachers of the year, and it was joyous, it was great. I want
to thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
It seemed like some of you were just as excited as I was to
welcome -- (laughter.) But it's a great office, as you could see.
It's such an honor to be in that office on a daily basis, just like I
know you feel it's an honor to be in your classrooms on a daily basis.
So, congratulations, thanks so much for being a teacher; thanks for
setting such a great example; and welcome.
I also want to thank and congratulate our four finalists: Marian
Galbraith, Henry Brown, Tracy Taylor Callard and Chauncey Veatch. I'm
going to say something about Chauncey a little later on.
Before I do so, though, I want America to remember how important it
is to have good teachers in our classrooms. Teachers help students to
read and write and to think and to count. These skills are essential,
yet, teaching them is only a part of a teacher's work. A good teacher
instills in their students a life-long interest in learning. A good
teacher gives young people a sense of their own possibilities, along
with a respect for themselves and for others.
To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, the greatest teacher makes
others believe in greatness. And they leave a lasting mark on the
lives around them. And that's why it's easy for me to say teaching is
such a profound profession.
Teachers are indispensable. We ask a lot from them, and teachers
are right to expect a lot from us. I believe there is a role for the
federal government in public education. It's -- the role is to work
with local folks to set the highest of high standards and to expect the
best. It's to support people at the local level, with the full
understanding that the best education emanates out of the classrooms,
not from bureaucracies in Washington, D.C.
The role is to fund, which we do. And the role is to support our
teachers through teacher training, retention and recruitment. As well
as to understand that simple things can matter to teachers a lot, like
allowing for there to be a tax deduction for out of pocket expenses.
We'll take the side of teachers as we work hard to provide a
first-class education for every child. And we mean every child in
America.
This year's National Teacher of the Year understands the need to
make sure no child gets left behind. He's made extraordinary
contributions to his students, two of whom are with us today. I'm so
honored that both these gentlemen came from California all the way over
here to Washington to honor a teacher. It says a lot about our
honoree.
This is a man who spent more than 25 years serving his country in
the United States Army. Colonel Veatch, after serving the Army, turned
to teaching over a decade ago. He now teaches social studies at
Coachella Valley High in Thermal, California, where the overwhelming
number of his students come from migrant families.
Chauncey Veatch is known as a kind an courteous, a tireless worker,
a team player, a man who has transformed the school in which he works
and the community in which he lives. Nearly all of the students at
Coachella Valley High School are Hispanic. Y por eso, Mr. Veatch,
hablo espanol. (Laughter.) He speaks Spanish. He uses the language
to communicate with his students and to show respect for a culture.
He's involved in many after school programs and community events. In
short, he's changed a lot of lives for the better.
Through Chauncey Veatch's efforts, students long considered
discipline problems started showing up on the honor roll. A teen with
a learning disability who read at the elementary school level became an
active participant in class. Boys dropped out of gangs to join the
Cadet Corps, the student campus security force that he helped
organize.
One migrant student at the high school had to work with his family
until November, but Mr. Veatch saved him a place in his class and then
spent hours with the student helping him catch up. According to this
young many, "Mr. Veatch does this for all of his migrant students." No
child will be left behind.
Mr. Veatch's former principal, Rick Alvarez, has paid this tribute
to him. "Believing our students can succeed," Rick says, "is not a
desire or a facade, but is actually something Chauncey lives. This
caring can be seen in his eyes and heard in his voice and felt in his
presence, and mostly seen in his actions."
Chauncey Veatch says his mission as a teacher is to be "a dream
maker for my students, not a dream breaker." He understands that
parents of every background share the same dreams for their children
-- dreams of improvement and independence and hope. "To dream is to
be filled with hope," he says, "I know this because I see the faces of
hope daily."
We want all our schools and all our teachers and principals to look
at our children and see the faces of hope. And that's exactly what the
teachers we honor today have done, on a daily basis.
Mr. Veatch, for teaching is not just a career, it is a high
calling; it's a form of service to children and to a nation he loves.
He has served both the children and our country extraordinarily well,
and it is my honor to present Chauncey Veatch the National Teacher of
the Year Award. Congratulations. (Applause.)