Press Statement - January 22, 1998

NSFnumber
Media contact:	Lee Herring	(703) 306-1070	kherring@nsf.gov
Program contact:	Janice Earle	(703) 306-1613	jearle@nsf.gov

Statement by Dr. Neal Lane
Director, National Science Foundation

Regarding 1997 Winners of Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

I warmly congratulate the 214 winners of the 1997 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation's highest honor for K-12 teachers. Through their dedication, these teachers exemplify our national obligation: to inspire all of our youth in math and science. They view it as a personal mission to ensure that all children-not simply the "best and brightest"-are appropriately challenged to excel in math and science.

Excellent teaching must be made a visible part of our everyday lives. This is why the National Science Foundation has been privileged to administer these awards on behalf of the President for the past 15 years.

These award-winning teachers have mastered excellence. And since we entrust our teachers with the intellectual development of our children, we must work to identify those ingredients that comprise excellence in math or science teaching-and then cultivate those same ingredients in all teachers.

Teachers have a responsibility for our nation's most precious human resource. They nurture the natural curiosity of our children, instilling both a yearning for knowledge and the power to learn, and they weave the wonder of knowing into the daily classroom routine of learning. Fortunately, we know from recent research what makes a world-class math and science teacher: reliance on active instruction and hands-on learning; good academic preparation in the subjects they teach; more time devoted to lifelong learning and professional activities; competence in setting higher instructional goals and objectives; and appropriate use of existing teaching technologies.

How well our teachers perform today determines in large measure the quality of life and health of our society for years to come. Nurturing, encouraging and supporting our teachers is a national obligation.

See also NSF News Release.