For Immediate Release
Office of Mrs. Bush
December 2, 2002
Remarks by Mrs. Bush at Coming Up Taller Awards
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Debbie. I am pleased to welcome our friends, His
Excellency Ambassador Juan Jose Bremer and Mrs. Bremer and the Mexican
delegation, to the fifth annual Coming Up Taller Awards. The
President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities is proud to honor two
programs in your home country of Mexico with Coming Up Taller Awards.
Welcome Congresswoman Connie Morella. Thank you, Adair, and members of The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities for your
welcome. Thanks also to the members of the Institute of Library and
Museum Services and the National Councils on the Arts and Humanities.
And thanks to all the young people who are here. Today, we
celebrate you and your pursuit of excellence in the study of arts and
humanities. We celebrate your talent and creativity, and the dedication
of your teachers who inspire you to paint, to write and to act out your
dreams.
Debbie Allen is one of those dedicated teachers. She has inspired
hundreds of young people to pursue their love of dance and to never
give up on their dreams. This is a lesson she learned a long time ago.
As a child, Debbie wanted to study dance at the Houston Foundation for
Ballet, but she was not accepted during her first audition, but she did
not give up.
She took lessons with a former dancer. She moved with her family to
Mexico City and danced with the National Ballet of Mexico. When Debbie
and her family moved back to Texas, she auditioned again for the
Houston Foundation for Ballet. Her strong will and hard work paid off.
She received a full scholarship and became the company's first
African-American dancer. You are an inspiring example, Debbie.
Just as Debbie's love of dance inspired her to succeed, Coming Up
Taller programs inspire young people to succeed. Today, thanks to the
study of arts and humanities, thousands of children are gaining a
greater sense of character and confidence. They are realizing there is
a big world beyond their own backyards - and that the world is waiting
for them.
For many children, this new world is college. Coming Up Taller
programs help children who never imagined they could go to do just
that. Through the DC Youth Orchestra Program here in Washington,
students study with professional musicians and perform in one of the
program's five orchestras. The Youth Orchestra has even performed at
the White House and at Lincoln Center. And nearly every student in this
merit-based program goes on to college or on to play with some of the
world's greatest orchestras.
Young people in Florida are also earning the chance to attend
college through Dance - The Next Generation. Sponsored by Sarasota
Ballet of Florida, this program gives aspiring dancers seven years of
ballet training and then helps them qualify for full scholarships to
college.
In North Dakota, through the STudents At Risk, or STAR program,
gifted students receive personal support and tuition assistance to
attend the Trollwood School for the Performing Arts. There, they
immerse themselves in the study of dance, playwriting and theater.
At Trollwood and in every Coming Up Taller program, everywhere
children learn in a safe environment where they make new friends and
spend time with caring adults. Through performances and exhibitions,
children are recognized and applauded for their accomplishments. They
learn discipline and teamwork. And above all, they learn to love
learning. In North Carolina, children learn about their community and
its rich history through Youth Document Durham. Children work with
folklorists and photographers to explore and document their
neighborhood origins. In Louisiana, through the New Orleans Recreation
Department and the New Orleans Ballet Association Center for Dance,
children experience the migration of African Americans from the South
to the North through interpretative dance.
The arts and humanities are critical building blocks for a child's
development. Drawing helps children improve their writing. Poetry helps
with memory. Theater brings history to life. Arts and humanities help
to develop vocabulary and critical thinking and an appreciation for
math and science.
In the New York public schools, more students learn to appreciate
architecture through the Arts in Education Program in Architecture and
Design. Children build scale models, they learn about design elements,
and even develop new building plans for their schools. And through the
Museum Team Afterschool Program at the Brooklyn Children's Museum,
young people go to the inviting world of the museum after school,
rather than home by themselves. Children study Early American history
and make quilts that illustrate our country's beginnings.
These children express themselves and have fun. They learn new and
amazing things about the arts and humanities - and about themselves.
They discover who they are - they discover who they can become - and
that they can do anything they set their minds to. In my home state of
Texas, through the SAY S, San Antonio Youth YES! Program, young people
sharpen their communication skills to prepare for college and careers.
They also learn about helping others. Student artists hold art
workshops for young children at housing projects and shelters. In
California, through Young Artists at Work, teenagers study with artists
and filmmakers in a year-long program that encourages the development
of skills that last a lifetime.
Through Coming Up Taller, young people are growing up stronger and
smarter - and more prepared for what the world holds. More children
tune violins than into television. More participate in plays than in
violence. Rather than give up, they give in to the joy of painting a
mural to beautify an old building in their neighborhood.
That is just what A Company of Girls does in Portland, Maine.
Through this theater program, students perform their rendition of King
Lear, appropriately titled Queen Lear for their all girls' production
group. In California, young people learn about and share their native
Mexican traditions with their community at the Los Cenzontles Mexican
Arts Center. Here, master artists teach young people traditional
Mexican arts. Los Cenzontles means The Mockingbirds, and I am thrilled
that these gifted young people will be sharing a bit of their heritage
with us today.
Mexico's heritage is also being shared with children through two
remarkable programs in the heart of Mexico. Through Fbrica de Artes
Oficios de Oriente, young children learn sculpture, toy-making, and
music from gifted artists in Mexico City. And through Talleres
Culturales en Zonas Marginadas, artists hold workshops in rural
villages. Here, children are read stories and then learn to write their
own.
And they learn that the arts and humanities are fun. Coming Up
Taller programs engage children in a learning style that they respond
to. They especially respond to the gifted teachers, artists, and
musicians who share their love, their time and their talent with our
young people.
Congratulations to the recipients of this year's Coming Up Taller
Awards for the remarkable difference you are making in our communities
and in our world.
To the young people here today, your brothers and sisters and
children in your neighborhood look up to you. You show them what is
possible if you work hard and pursue your dreams. So before you head
out into a world filled with opportunity, give someone else the
opportunity to learn from you. I encourage you to get involved as a
teacher or a mentor with a Coming Up Taller program in your community.
A wise woman once said, "Failure.is something you cannot be afraid
of, because you will stop growing. The next step beyond failure could
be your biggest success in life." Debbie Allen knows what she is
talking about. Study of the arts and humanities give you the skills.
Dance, words and music inspire you. And you will make your future a
true work of art. Thank you all very much.
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