Richard W. Riley

Former U.S. Secretary of Education

National Teachers Hall of Fame Induction Celebration

Washington, D. C.

June 21, 2005

Thank you, Anne, for your gracious introduction. I have known Anne for a good many years now, and I am pleased to say that she is one true leader in our national effort to improve education.

I am pleased to accept your Friend of Education Award. I am even more pleased that I have the chance to meet and recognize these five extraordinary teachers.

What strikes me the most about each of them is their dedication and unstinting passion for teaching, even after spending decades in the classroom. All of us here know just how difficult it can be to stay in the teaching profession.

We lose a lot of new teachers in the first few years because they simply are overwhelmed by all of the challenges that confront them. And we seem to be losing more and more of our veteran teachers because they are unhappy with their working conditions -- they are concerned about barriers to being creative in their profession.

But here tonight we honor five teachers who have been steadfast and true to their profession – year after year. These are professionals who know their craft. I certainly hope that the National Teachers Hall of Fame will find a way to pass on their wisdom to the next generation of teachers.

And that’s important because education is more difficult than most people think. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, often makes the point in his Congressional testimony that a better system of education remains one of the most promising ways to solve this nation’s long-term economic problems.

Just last week, Greenspan was testifying here on the Hill and again and again he came back to the issue of education. And what strikes me most about his testimony is his recognition that education is difficult; that while he may be an expert on economics and monetary policy, he doesn’t know how to “do education.”

Well, Chairman Greenspan, I have five experts for you -- right here and they are available.

Now, these are challenging times for those of us in education. Given the difficulties we face in Iraq and in the fight against terrorism, domestic issues like education are not as high on our national agenda as they were in 1996 and 2000. Nevertheless, improving education remains paramount to the long-term success of this nation.

And one of our biggest challenges is this -- how do we raise achievement levels and at the same time avoid standardization. That, in a nutshell, is the major challenge we face with No Child Left Behind.

I supported No Child Left Behind – but I’ve always said that, to be effective, it has to be fully funded and also has to allow for some flexibility. Its goals are right, but the top-down, prescriptive nature of the Act needs some carefully thought-out amendment.

I am a strong believer in high standards and accountability, but the movement to raise achievement levels cannot be driven by standardization. If we create an accountability system that is more punitive than diagnostic, more about fear than achieving success, then we will have missed the mark entirely about how to raise standards.

Our national commitment to raise achievement levels isn’t just about testing and accountability. It also is about raising our expectations for all children early on – and about engaging children in the excitement of learning.

Many years ago, the British philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, in his book, The Aims of Education, wrote, "the rhythms of education are in three stages: romance, precision and generalization.”

“Romance," he says, "makes precision palatable. Without romance, precision dulls the mind and causes the student to focus on inert dead knowledge."

We must not take the “romance” out of teaching and learning. Education must never be reduced to a single standardized test.

Another important aspect of national leadership is to recognize that teachers and principals and superintendents in the field know a lot more about teaching and learning than most people in Washington. When teachers and administrators tell you something isn’t working, or that a law has some unintended consequences, you need to listen hard to what they are telling you.

John Stanford, the late superintendent of schools in Seattle, used to say, “The victory is in the classroom.” We should never lose sight of that important fact. And we must never forget that teachers are the heart and soul of education.

There are many ways to serve our country and the five teachers we honor tonight have shown us what it means to be patriotic and dedicated. They have invested their lives in helping others and our great country is stronger as a result.

We are now in the middle of a war – and our men and women who are in harm’s way in Iraq or Afghanistan are our real patriots.

But there are other patriots serving America.

We need to understand that every time an elementary school teacher captures the imagination of a child through the arts or music or languages, this nation gets a little stronger.

Every time a high school teacher or counselor keeps a young person from dropping out of school or gets a young person on the path to college, our nation becomes more vibrant.

And every time a college professor encourages a smart young person to become a teacher, our nation’s future is made brighter.

Our teachers are American patriots – and we need to recognize and appreciate that.

I assure you that America’s teachers – like the five teachers we honor tonight -- are the strength and long-term hope for this great country of ours. And, yes, they truly are American patriots.

Thank you.