THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for that warm welcome. I'm
delighted to be here. Secretary Paige said that he's moving around the
country to 25 different cities and school districts to make sure that
the No Child Left Behind initiative is put in place and implemented,
and I just wanted to check up on him a little bit. (Laughter.) And
I'm glad I'm doing so here in Michigan.
I picked Rod to be the Secretary of Education, one, I was
comfortable with him as a person. We're both Texans; I saw him in
action in Texas, I know how deeply he cares for the children all across
our country. But I also wanted somebody that actually knew how to get
things done. In Washington, we find all kinds of great theorists,
people who talk about theory and philosophy. And I was interested in
somebody who actually had run a school district, who knows what it
means to meet a budget, who knows how to deal with teachers, who
insists upon high standards for every child. And Rod did that, and
he's a great Secretary of Education. I'm so glad that he's here.
(Laughter.)
I want to thank Sharalene, as well. You know, one of the things
you find out when you pay close attention to public education and you
try to figure out what works, the good schools are those who have got
good principals. Good schools are -- (applause.) So I want to thank
Sharalene for her hospitality. I know it's not easy to welcome the
President -- (laughter) -- he's got kind of a small entourage.
(Laughter.) Of 25 vehicles. (Laughter.) But you all and your staff
have done a great job. And I want to thank all who are responsible for
helping put this event on for your hospitality.
I want to thank your teachers, as well. I'm real proud to be in
the midst of teachers who are doing a great job. (Applause.)
I made a wise choice when I asked a public school teacher to marry
me. (Laughter.) A lot of people are wondering how wise a choice she
made when she said yes. (Laughter.) But I'm sorry she's not here with
me today. She cares deeply about the teaching profession, and one of
here responsibilities that she's assumed is to help recruit young and
old alike to become teachers in classrooms.
I want to thank Cecil Rice, who's the Superintendent of Southfield
Public Schools. You and big Rod speak the same language. (Applause.)
Good to have you here. I want to thank Congressman Joe Knollenberg --
this is his district -- thank you for being here, Congressman.
(Applause.) I want to thank my friend, the Governor of Michigan, John
Engler, for being here, as well. Thank you, Governor. (Applause.)
We've got Tom Watkins, who's the Superintendent of Public Instruction
for Michigan. Tom, thanks for coming. (Applause.) We've got the
Mayor -- thank you, Madam Mayor, for being here. Appreciate you
coming. (Applause.)
We've got a young lady named Asya Obad here. I want to tell you
about Asya. Please stand up, Asya. (Applause.) One of the things I
try to do as I travel around the country is to remind people that if
you live in America, you have a responsibility to your country and the
community in which you live. That out of this evil that has been done
to us I believe can come some incredible good, and part of that good is
neighbor caring for neighbor, and people listening to the universal
admonition to love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself.
And this young lady, who is a University of Michigan student, has
done just that. She's a one-time AmeriCorps volunteer? Two-time
AmeriCorps volunteer. She works with a program called ACCESS -- Arab
Community Center for Economic and Social Services -- to help new
students, immigrant students to learn to read and write. In other
words, she's a child who is getting her own education, and at the same
time, working hard to make sure our community is strong.
You see, America changes one heart, one soul, one conscience at a
time. And while one person can't do everything, one person can make a
significant difference in people's lives.
I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank you for the
example you set for people your age, and for older people, too.
(Applause.)
I want to thank the parents who are involved in their children's
education. I got to tell you, I was impressed -- it just reminded me
how great America is when I came -- went through the classrooms here.
A young girl just came from Iraq, reads -- talks about core democratic
values and why they're important. I mean, this is a great country and
it's a great -- public schools, it's so important that we get it
right. In order for the future of this country to be bright and
hopeful, we've got to make sure every child gets educated, no matter
where they're from, or their background.
You know, this little girl came, and she spoke -- knew the
alphabet, but that was it. And she was able, in front of the President
of the United States, and the press corps, to read about values that
matter. But it's the same values that matter to my little girls. I
mean, it's the greatness of our country to share values, and to be
diverse, and to welcome people from all backgrounds into America.
And one of the unifying things about our country is the education
system. It's an education system that can be incredibly hopeful. And
it's one where, as a result of schools making right decisions, people
from all backgrounds do get educated.
The reason I'm here is because this is a successful school. It's a
successful school because teachers care and work hard. (Applause.)
It's successful school because there is a mind-set that says, every
child can learn. (Applause.) It is a school that obviously welcomes
people from all backgrounds, but it is also a school that doesn't kind
of say, well, certain kids are going to be too hard to educate, let's
just kind of move them somewhere else, kind of put them on the side car
to nowhere -- which happens.
This is a school that welcomes the young child from Iraq, puts her
in a classroom, provides a little special nudge when it comes to an
interpreter, but gets her moving.
This is a school that is not afraid to measure; a school that says,
we want to know. You see, there are a lot of people in America who
reject the notion of accountability in public education. I'm not one.
See, I want to know. I want to know whether a child is learning to
read and write, or add and subtract, and I want to know early. It
seems like to me that if we are concerned about every child, and we
have high standards that believes every child can learn, that in order
to verify that, we ought to measure, and not be afraid of
accountability. This school is not afraid of accountability, and as a
result, is excelling. (Applause.)
There are people who are afraid of accountability systems, and,
therefore, I become suspicious. Because if you don't want to measure,
it kind of makes me worry that maybe your a little -- you're not
confident about either your teacher quality or your curriculum. If
you're afraid to be held accountable, something must be going wrong.
That's how I view it.
What I don't like is a system that quits on kids. And neither
should you. This school doesn't quit on kids, and that's why it's
heralded for its excellence. You see, there can be a mind-set in
American schools that say, well, there are certain kids that can't
learn and, therefore, let's just move them through. The easiest thing
to do is to shuffle them through. And one way to make sure that
happens is to have no accountability. One way to make sure that it's
-- you take the easy path, which is, give it your best shot and hope
you get it right -- is not to measure.
And that's happened for too long in America. I'm going to be
honest about it. When you've got so many 4th-graders who can't read at
grade level, something has gone wrong. And by the way, if they can't
read at grade level at 4th grade, you're not going to be reading at
grade level at 8th grade, and you're not going to be reading grade
level at high school. And all of a sudden, the great American hopes
and dreams may not be extended in every neighborhood.
And so one of the reasons I'm so insistent upon accountability, and
Sharalene is, as well, and Rod is, is because we need to know whether
or not children are able to read early, and if they're not, use the
accountability system as a way to correct problems. Sharalene was
telling me that when this school begins to get a sense that a child is
beginning to fall behind, the accountability system steps up, it
doesn't decrease. There is a constant attention being paid to a child,
and whether or not that child is getting the right instruction.
And I think that's not only healthy, I think it's great for the
children. If the goal for America is "no child left behind," let's
make sure we view each child as an individual; test him or her as to
whether or not she can read, write, add or subtract, and correct his or
her problems early, before it's too late. And you mark my word, what's
going to happen: high standards, accountability, and local control of
schools will mean that the public school system is going to be the
greatest it can possibly be. (Applause.)
We have responsibilities throughout our society. We have
responsibilities. The federal government has responsibilities.
Generally, that responsibility is to write a healthy check, and we did
so in the 2002 budget -- $22 billion for secondary and elementary
schools. It's an increase of 25 percent. We've increased money by 35
percent for teacher recruitment, teacher retention, teacher pay.
But my attitude is, if you spend something, you ought to get
results for it. We ought to know. And that's why we insist -- and
this is what Rod is doing by traveling around the country, saying, in
return for federal help, you've got to measure. The state of Michigan,
the state of Texas, the state of anywhere else has got to develop an
accountability system that measures grades 3 through 8, to show not
only the taxpayers, but mothers and dads, whether or not expectations
are being met.
Local districts have a responsibility. Local districts have a
responsibility to support the teachers. They have a responsibility to
develop the accountability systems. They have a responsibility to
reject curriculum that do not work. They have a responsibility to
challenge the status quo. They have a responsibility to provide an
education system that is not only good for teachers and principals, but
an education system in which parents are involved.
Parents have a responsibility in the public education system of
America. You have a responsibility to make sure your child comes to
school with the understanding that they're going to be polite when they
get in the classroom; with the understanding that they'll treat their
teacher with respect; with the understanding there are certain manners
that are important. If you expect your child to be well-educated, you
have the responsibility of making sure your child gets educated,
starting at home, with some basic fundamentals. (Applause.)
One of the things I like to try to remind parents, that it would be
helpful if you insisted that your child read more than they watch TV.
(Applause.) As a veteran of teenage years, that's easier said than
done, I understand that. (Laughter.) But it's -- all of us must
assume responsibilities if we expect the best for every single child.
The federal government has got responsibilities; the state government
has got responsibilities; the local districts have responsibilities;
mothers and dads have responsibilities; the business community has
responsibilities. The Michigan business community has got
responsibilities to be involved with the public education system in
Michigan.
I mean, after all, we're educating potential heads of businesses
and employees. And business Michigan must support education, must
support the accountability systems, must support the infrastructure
necessary to make sure that the school systems in Michigan work.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with executives from around the country. I'm
going to remind them that they have a responsibility, as good corporate
citizens, not only to make sure that we understand all their assets and
liabilities on their balance sheets, that when it comes time to
treating their shareholders and employees with integrity, they must do
so, that we expect there to be honesty in reporting, but business
communities have the responsibility, as well, to support public
education in America. (Applause.)
So I believe firmly we're on the right track. First of all, we
herald the importance of public education in America. Being on the
right track means you understand the importance of public schools in
our country. Anybody who doubts the importance of public education
need to come to this school and go see the classrooms that I saw. It's
diversity -- (applause.) I believe one of the strengths of America is
our diversity. I know one of the strengths is the common values that
we all share. And I saw that living example in the classrooms I
visited.
Secondly, we have the right mind-set in America, and that says,
every child can learn. You've got to start thinking that. If you
don't believe every child can learn, then the ones you don't believe
will learn won't learn. Every child can learn. Notice I didn't say
every group can learn. I said, every single child can learn. It's a
belief that we've got to focus our attentions on each child.
It says that we trust the local people. Listen, we don't want
Washington, D.C. managing public education. (Applause.) Trust me. One
size isn't going to fit all. It's just not. I know that some will say
that's a trite slogan. It's true. It's true. You've got different
issues here in Michigan than we have in Texas. And there's different
issues here than they have in California. And that's why we want to
have flexibility at the local level. We've got to trust teachers and
principals to design what works. There needs to be flexibility.
But we must be wise enough to measure. See, we must incorporate
accountability, and then be quick enough to change when we find
failure. And mark my words what's going to happen: we're going to
start seeing great progress. This school is living example of great
progress. Kind of at the bottom of the measurement standards, if I'm
not mistaken, five years ago, and now you're soaring off the chart. It
shows what's possible. We want every school soaring off the chart.
We don't want schools languishing in mediocrity and excuse-making.
We want the best for every child. That's what America's future is all
about. It's about making sure that every single child gets educated.
I love to ask the question when I go into a classroom, are you going to
college? It makes me feel so great to see every hand pop up -- every
hand. And that starts with making sure that every child gets a good
education. And you're doing so at this school.
And I'm proud you've invited me to come. And on behalf of a
grateful nation, thank you for doing your job, and doing it with
excellence. (Applause.)