"We can make all the right policy decisions in Washington, but without great teachers like you challenging your students to be their best and instilling in them a love of learning, nothing else matters" "It's no secret that teaching is one of the hardest jobs out there." "And we must start rewarding teachers who get great results, especially in low-income schools, which often have the hardest time getting and keeping experienced and knowledgeable teachers."

		More Resources Photos

Hopkinton, Mass. – U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today delivered remarks at the department's Teacher-to- Teacher workshop. Secretary Spellings was joined by Massachusetts' Lt. Governor Kerry Healey and representatives from EMC2 and TechNet, which sponsored the event:

Thank you Lt. Governor Healey for that introduction. I appreciate your leadership and dedication to education here in Massachusetts. From one mother of school-age children to another – I know you get the same first hand insight I do into how policy decisions truly impact the teachers and students we serve.

I'd also like to thank Joe Tucci for hosting us here today. Joe has been a champion for math and science education in the business community. And he's been leading the charge for higher standards in these critical areas, which are only growing more critical and more needed every day.

I want to thank your state education commissioner, Dave Driscoll, for being here. Dave's been a pioneer in education reform – here in Massachusetts and at the national level. He's made Massachusetts a shining example for states all across the country and you have the results to show for it too.

According to the nation's education report card, Massachusetts leads the nation at almost all grade levels in math and science scores. And that's not easy for a Texas braggadocio like me to say. But this is a fitting place to host our math and science Teacher-to-Teacher workshop.

Here at EMC, you can see firsthand how much technology has changed the world over the last decade. Information is traveling around the globe faster than ever. Today what you know means far more than where you live. The same job can be and is being done from Bangalore just as easily as it can be done in Boston. And the common currencies everyone needs to compete are math and science skills.

Americans understand just how important these skills really are if we are going to maintain our competitive edge. In a recent survey when asked, "Which one or two skills taught in high school will be the most important to America's ability to compete in the global economy?" 40 percent said math, science, and technology skills – twice as high as the next most popular answer.

The good news is that there is a groundswell of understanding and support for putting our resources and efforts towards better math and science instruction – but we still have a lot of work to do.

Nearly half of our 17-year-olds don't have the necessary math skills to work as a production associate at a modern auto plant. And, our 15-year-olds rank 24th out of 29 developed nations in math literacy and problem solving.

That's why President Bush launched the American Competitiveness Initiative to ensure that our students are equipped with the skills they need to compete and succeed in school, in the workforce, and in life.

As many of you know, ACI aims to strengthen K-12 math and science education and increase academic rigor in our high schools. As part of this effort, we've formed a National Math Panel to help us identify the best research on proven strategies to teach math, just like we did for reading with the National Reading Panel. We look forward to sharing those findings with all of you and other teachers across the country.

Just as important as improved instruction is an across-the-board commitment to raising the bar for student achievement. In the same survey I quoted, 3 out of 4 high school students don't feel challenged. These are similar findings to a recent study of high school dropouts published by the Gates Foundation where the lack of challenging coursework was one of the top reasons given for quitting. Nearly 50 percent surveyed said they left school because their classes were boring and not relevant to their lives – not because they weren't passing.

We must challenge our students and create a system that demands they step up to the plate – and to do so we must challenge ourselves. I've recently traveled to India, Egypt and Russia, and I can tell you there is a hunger for education in those places that is often lacking in American students.

They work harder and longer, and they don't make or accept excuses. These are the kids our kids are going to be competing against – and if we don't challenge them now – then we aren't doing our job to prepare them for the future.

Last month, I had a meeting with Tom Friedman The New York Times columnist and author of the bestseller, The World is Flat. And he told me the number one skill our children will need to survive in this new flat world is learning how to learn. And to learn how to learn; you've got to love how to learn and that's triggered by a great teacher. He said ask your friends what classes they love and regardless of the subject...physics, astronomy, art history...take that class because chances are it's being taught by a great teacher.

We can make all the right policy decisions in Washington, but without great teachers like you challenging your students to be their best and instilling in them a love of learning, nothing else matters.

And that's especially important in math and science where we must do a better job engaging students. One recent study found that 84 percent of American middle school students would rather clean their rooms, take out the garbage or go to the dentist than do their math homework.

But that's not the case in Mark Hannum's classroom at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington, DC where students bounce basketballs to model exponential functions on graphing calculators... or Angel Perkins' science classroom at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee where students learn scientific concepts through memorable analogies such as photosynthesis being compared to the gold rush or lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation being compared to how a pawn shop works.

Mark and Angel don't just teach math and science, they show students how these subjects relate to their everyday lives. And if we as a nation are going to stay competitive, we must start using these same strategies in every classroom.

That's why we're holding this workshop today. We want to give teachers the chance to share best practices and to learn from teachers like Mark and Angel who are getting great results in the classroom and inspiring students.

I also want to thank Carolyn Snowbarger for organizing these Teacher-to-Teacher workshops all across the country this summer. And I want to thank all of you for being here and for making this investment in your careers. By the end of this summer, almost 10,000 teachers will have attended these workshops since we started the Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative two years ago. And about one million students will have benefited because people like you sought to become even better teachers. Thank you.

Let me give a special thanks to all the presenters for giving up their summer breaks to travel around the country as part of this program. I know how hard you work during the school year. And I'm sure you could've used a long vacation.

It's no secret that teaching is one of the hardest jobs out there. As a mom, I've enjoyed meeting and working with my daughters' teachers through the years. And I appreciate how they've always made time to see me and let me know what's happening in the classroom.

I also tried my hand at substitute teaching for a few months after graduating from college...which was some time ago. And I can testify that the heavy lifting of educating our students doesn't happen in the superintendent's office or the Department of Education. It happens in real classrooms with real teachers like you, and I know that.

Everywhere I go, I'm inspired by hard-working teachers who believe every child deserves a quality education. Earlier this year, I met a local teacher of the year in Spokane, Washington. She earned that honor after 17 years of teaching elementary school. And she told me she was a better teacher today than she was five years ago because of No Child Left Behind.

That's probably the best compliment this law could get. Because at its heart, it's all about giving teachers the tools to help students achieve their potential.

We're already heading in the right direction thanks to No Child Left Behind, and we must stick with it. Over the last 5 years, our 9-year-olds have made more progress in reading than in the previous 28 combined. That's a credit to the hard work and dedication of teachers like you.

And we must start rewarding teachers who get great results, especially in low-income schools, which often have the hardest time getting and keeping experienced and knowledgeable teachers. The President and the Congress recently created a new $100 million Teacher Incentive Fund to encourage more experienced teachers to take jobs in high-poverty schools, where a high-quality teacher makes all the difference. So far, 16 states, including Massachusetts, and about 60 districts have already expressed interest in applying, and we plan to make those awards by October.

We know nothing helps a child learn as much as a great teacher. Great teachers are helping us reach our goal under No Child Left Behind of having every child doing grade level work by 2014 and great teachers are the key to equipping every child to compete and thrive in the 21st century.

I hope you'll share what you learn here today with your fellow teachers back home. We need to empower teachers like you to be leaders in your profession and mentors and coaches for teachers in your schools. Studies show these mentoring programs work and can have a big impact on teacher retention rates. And in the end, that's the type of teacher-to-teacher learning that matters most and the kind that will help ensure all our children receive the quality education they deserve.

Thanks again for coming today and for all that you do.

For more information on the department's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tools/initiative/factsheet.html

###

Top

Back to July 2006