For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
October 19, 2004
Remarks by First Lady Laura Bush at Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award
New York Historical Society New York, New York
10:55 A.M. EDT
MRS. BUSH: Thank you all very much. Thank you, Dr. Basker, for
your kind words and for your work with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History. Special thanks also to the founders of the
Institute, Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman for your leadership.
Today wouldn't be possible without you or the board members of
Preserve America. Sabrina, you did a wonderful job delivering the
Pledge and, Camellia, your singing of our National Anthem was
magnificent. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
I'm happy to be here today in one of my favorite cities and to see
my good friend and your first lady, Libby Pataki. Libby, thanks so
much for being here. (Applause.)
And certainly, there's no better place to learn about history than
right here at the New York Historical Society. Thanks to Dr. Louise
Mirrer and to Nancy Newcomb, and to the Board of Trustees for your
great work. And thanks also to Bernadette Castro, Commissioner of New
York's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation. Thank
you all for joining us. (Applause.)
Today, we gather in a place that brings history to life to honor a
teacher who does the very same thing. I'm so happy to honor a gifted
teacher and an incredible woman. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me
in congratulating the 2004 -- and first -- Preserve America History
Teacher of the Year, Ms. Kathleen Kean. (Applause.)
This special honor is in recognition of Kathy's creativity,
enthusiasm, and dedication to teaching children their history. As a
teacher for nearly 30 years, Kathy has spent the last 25 years teaching
at Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin. Kathy was selected out
of more than 54 finalists, who are all exceptional teachers in their
own right.
All teachers deserve to be recognized for the contributions they
make to our classrooms and to our country. Teaching is the absolute
profession -- the one that makes all the others possible. I know how
rewarding and how challenging teaching can be, and what a remarkable
difference a teacher can make in the life of a student.
Like Kathy, when I was a little girl, I made the very mature
decision to become a teacher. My mother said she knew I'd become a
teacher when she heard me scolding my dolls for not paying attention.
(Laughter.) But I wanted to teach because I loved school and I loved
my second grade teacher, Ms. Gnagy. She was my favorite teacher and I
wanted to be just like her.
Certainly, one of my most memorable days was my very first day
teaching. I had everything ready in the classroom: The chairs were
perfectly positioned, the pencils were sharpened. Then the children
walked in. Or should I say, some walked, some ran, and some were
pulled in by their parents. (Laughter.) I'd earned a teaching degree
but no textbook could have prepared me for the 20 sets of eyes staring
at me with total expectation.
At 9:00 a.m., we started to work. We recited the alphabet and
numbers. We colored and put together puzzles. We read a few books --
and then a few more. And by 9:15, I had gone through my entire day's
lesson plans. (Laughter.)
Even if they can't always fill an entire day with lesson plans,
teachers fill children's lives with hope and love. And this is what
Kathy does every day -- and as the Preserve America History Teacher of
the Year, she does it exceptionally well.
Kathy is a great history teacher for so many reasons, and not just
because she named her daughter Abigail Adams -- after Abigail Adams.
And Abigail, by the way, is also inspired by her mom -- she's a high
school history teacher, and Abigail is here with us today, and her
brother, Liam, as well.
Kathy is an incredible teacher because she's passionate about what
she teaches. And from the classroom to her community, Kathy shares her
lifelong love of history with her students, her colleagues and her
neighbors.
Her students can attest that her love of history is infectious. In
fact, according to Marty and Jenny who are here with us today, at 7:20
in the morning, not even coffee can wake them up like Ms. Kean.
(Laughter.)
Jenny likes it that Ms. Kean relies on more than textbooks to
capture her students' imaginations. Through fieldtrips and group
research projects, students don't just learn history, they experience
it.
Rather than simply read about the 1920s, Ms. Kean brought in a
record player and she taught her class to dance the Charleston. Her
students weren't sure which was more historic -- the dance or the
record player. (Laughter.)
Rather than learn about the Civil War through documentaries,
students read letters written by Kathy's great-great grandfather, who
served in an all-Irish regiment in the Northern army. Instead of
imagining what life is like for immigrants, students interview and
chronicle journeys of new immigrants to America.
As a former librarian myself and a lover of books, I'm especially
pleased that Kathy helped develop an American History-American
Literature course. Students read classic literature and, as they do,
they learn about the time period in which the books portray. They gain
a stronger understanding of the characters, of the genres and the
authors.
And rather than learn about historical architecture from a slide
show, Kathy leads her students on walking tours through historic
communities in Milwaukee. Many of the landmarks they visit, Kathy
helped to save through a historic preservation program she started
nearly 30 years ago. Today, Historic Milwaukee, Inc., continues to
foster a greater appreciation of the city's history and architecture.
The success of Kathy's creative approach to teaching is reflected
in her students' test scores and in their love of learning. Several of
her students have gone on to become historians. And they all leave her
class with the sense that the study of history is more than a required
course, but it's an extension of life, an essential part of the human
experience.
Kathy says, "It's important that students learn about the courage
and the perseverance of other generations. We can take comfort in
knowing that other people have met challenges and that we can have the
encouragement then to do the same."
Kathy, thank you for all that you do to enrich our children's lives
and to share the story of America.
An understanding and an appreciation of the past makes every
American a more engaged citizen. Our founders believed that the study
of history should be at the core of every American's education. Thomas
Jefferson said, "The people are the ultimate guardians of their own
liberty. History, by apprising them of the past, will enable them to
judge the future."
President Bush and I want all children to learn about our nation's
history and to enjoy our national treasures. Preserve America supports
partnerships that preserve our nation's heritage from monuments to
natural landscapes to main streets.
And today, thanks to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History, we celebrate a great educational component of Preserve
America, which is honoring outstanding history teachers like Kathy
Kean.
Great institutes of learning like the New York Historical Society
are also helping young people learn about our past. Just a minute ago,
I toured the Alexander Hamilton Exhibit. If you haven't had a chance
to see it, I hope you'll see some of these remarkable artifacts and
paintings and I strongly encourage you to take the tour.
The country we live in today is very much the nation that Hamilton
envisioned and helped to shape. Through exhibits like this and through
the creativity of great teachers like Kathy Kean, our young people will
learn that history is not a time apart but very much a vital part of
who we are now.
Poet William Wordsworth once wrote, "What we have loved, others
will love, and we will teach them how." We love our country, and we
want to teach our children about the ideals, the events, and the
courageous men and women who shaped our nation. When we do, they can
carry America's ideals and our history on into the future.
Thanks again to Kathy Kean for sharing your love of history with so
many. And thanks to every teacher across America for making a
difference in the lives of children.
Now I want to introduce two of Ms. Kean's former students, Marty
and Jenny, and they're going to introduce our Preserve America History
Teacher of the Year, and their favorite teacher. Thanks to all of
you. (Applause.)
END 11:05 A.M. EDT
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