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[Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Dinner, 5/4/90]
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[Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Dinner, 5/4/90]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Tony Snow Subject Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
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This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
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Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speechwriting, White House Office of
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Snow, Tony, Files
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Subject File, 1988-1993
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13897
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13897-008
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[Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Dinner, 5/4/90]
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29
2
5
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Tulsa, Oklahoma)
For Immediate Release
May 4, 1990
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT OKLAHOMA FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE DINNER
Maxwell Convention Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
8:08 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. And thank you
especially, Senator Nickles, for that warm introduction. To Governor
Henry Bellmon, early supporter and friend of longstanding; Senator
Boren, to whom I give enormous credit for this wonderful evening, and
all the principals that lead to this evening and will lead to so much
more for academic excellence. And to other distinguished members of
the Congress that might be here, especially I want to pay my respects
to Carl Albert and Mrs. Albert, who's here; and members of the
Foundation, honored guests, and ladies and gentlemen. I'd like the
Tulsa Band, too. I thought they did an outstanding job over there.
(Applause.)
You'll be pleased, this will be a short speech. I will
leave before the broccoli. (Laughter.) Did you see the sign -- did
you see the kid over there while I was speaking at Oklahoma State
University holding up a sign, "George, eat your broccoli." I don't
need advice from little kids about what I'm going to eat.
(Laughter.)
But earlier today I gave that speech -- first, just let
me say I appreciate this reception very much and am delighted to be
in this state of open hearts and open skies. But let me say a word
about Oklahoma State. I gave that speech over there at Oklahoma
State University, and I was delighted to be there, at Stillwater.
They'll never forgive me in Norman. After all, the musical
"Oklahoma" says "the farmer and the cowman should be friends.' It
doesn't say a thing about the Sooners and Cowboys. (Laughter.)
This evening, though, I want to talk about one thing all
Americans have in common, the reason we're all here: our dedication
to America's most enduring legacy. I refer, of course, to the
education that is vital to everything we are and can become.
It's been said, "There are only two bequests we can hope
to give our children -- one of these is roots, and the other, wings."
A theme embodied, I might add, in the beautiful sculptures here.
These words reaffirm that knowledge provides the foundation for every
idea that takes flight in the mind of a child.
Yet today the facts are clear, and they don't make for
pleasant reading. Erratic standards -- Dave referred to this -- an
unacceptable drop-out rate, too little parental involvement, too
little accountability by teachers and students, too many schools
wracked by drug use and too many kids ill-equipped to read or write.
Let's be honest: our educational system isn't making the grade.
Five years ago, a United States senator acted to convert
that grade to "pass" from "fail." Believing, like you, that if
excellence breeds achievement, then excellence should be rewarded.
So David Boren set out to ensure that future generations will say of
us: They taught their children well. His creation was the Oklahoma
Foundation for Excellence.
MORE
- 2 -
This Foundation wisely believes that America can only be
as great as her children are educated. And that while the federal
government must help, education is and should be a local and a state
responsibility. Parents, teachers, local administrators -- not
faraway, distant bureaucrats -- best understand the local needs. So
this program here affirms values as central to Oklahoma as love of
freedom and of God.
First of all, the Foundation reflects Oklahoma's belief
in high achievement. Someone said, "Anything can have happened in
Oklahoma. Practically everything has." Your work has raised private
money to give $1,000 cash scholarships to the state's top 100 high
school seniors. And I loved seeing those kids march across this
stage just a minute ago. I salute these academic all-staters who are
the true trustees of our posterity.
Next, this Foundation mirrors your dedication, Oklahoma's
dedication to excellence. You understand that those with the
responsibility for our children's education literally hold the future
in their hands. So you're giving $5,000 each to three magnificent
teachers and a superb public school administrator. I salute the
recipients of the 1990 Oklahoma Medals for Excellence in Teaching and
Administration. (Applause.) And I also want to mention that $5,000
award to the public school system that has had the most effective
drop-out prevention program. Keeping kids in schools is absolutely
critical -- and you're doing a great job.
Finally, the Foundation for Excellence reflects the
belief that education can be the great uplifter and equalizer.
Perhaps that great Broadway character, Oklahoma's Aunt Eller, put it
best when she said, "I don't say I'm better than anybody else, but
I'll be danged if I ain't just as good." Well, your idea can enrich
education and help education enrich our lives.
Achievement, excellence and equality -- what a definition
of Oklahoma. And I love the button that Henry Bellmon gave me here
-- Oklahoma, state of excellence. What a wonderful signal that sends
to everybody here and all that come here. And what a magnificent
difference this movement has made in just five years. Over $2
million raised. Today, more than 100 Oklahoma communities have local
private foundations -- many inspired by your lead. Think of it:
Each of these foundations -- I call them "points of light" -- each
does what the federal government cannot do -- serve as a wonderful
model for other states and localities to emulate. So tonight I
challenge every state in America to do what Oklahoma has already done
-- make American education a beacon of excellence. (Applause.) By
increasing private support for public education, you've enriched
academic opportunities for students all across this state. If
there's any doubt, you've resolved it. When it comes to Oklahoma
education, Washington doesn't know best, Oklahomans do.
The result is that today Oklahoma ranks first, per
capita, in the number of private foundations. Yet you also know that
progress made can't be measured by dollars spent alone. So you're
showing how parents, teachers, administrators, school boards can work
together to help our kids -- like Oklahoma's fabled pioneers --
discover the unlimited frontiers of learning.
We know, of course, that it won't be easy. Let me recall
how once, marking an examination written shortly before Christmas,
the noted Yale scholar William Lyon Phelps came across this note:
"God only knows the answer to this question. Merry Christmas."
Phelps returned the paper with the annotation: "God gets an A. You
get an F. Happy New Year. (Laughter.) You remember that?
Yes, of course, education is going to meet roadblocks.
But they're obstacles we can overcome. For you're not in this alone.
The federal government does have'a legitimate role. That's why a
year ago we sent to the Congress our Educational Excellence Act,
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- 3 -
legislation which can help America out-think, out-work and
out-perform any nation, any day of the week.
For instance, we want to create a $500-million program by
1994 to reward schools that improve the most. And a Magnet Schools
of Excellence Program: We believe parents -- not Big Brother --
should decide which public schools their kids attend. Our program
will reward schools that cut the drop-out rate; create a National
Science Scholars Initiative providing incentive to excel in science,
mathematics, and engineering. And recently I signed into law
legislation to help schools that are hit the hardest by drug use.
Now, these steps will help our children unlock the
future, give them the tools to master the new world of new
technologies. And reverse the trend we saw in a recent comparison of
13-year-olds in the United States and five other countries where
America placed last in mathematics and near last in science.
Most of all, our Educational Excellence Act can help make
American education number one again by achieving the goals that we
announced in February with governors like Henry Bellmon. We want
U.S. students to be first in math and science by the year 2000, and
every American to be skilled and literate. We want every student to
start school ready to learn. That means Head Start and it means
programs like it. And each school to have an environment where kids
can learn. That means making every school drug-free. Finally, we
want to see a graduation rate of at least 90 percent with every
student competent in important subjects. Like a future graduate --
Erin Amato, a third-grader from Sugarland, Texas -- who recently
wrote me this letter:
"Dear President Bush. I have been doing good in school.
I made all 'A' honor roll last six weeks and I hope I make it this
six weeks also. Do you like rolls? I like rolls but I do not like
broccoli." Obviously, a bright kid here. (Laughter.) And then Erin
concluded, saying, "I do like carrots. I love Texas.
Let me close with a story that I think this kid would
appreciate -- a story about the scholarship that, together, all of us
can build. The story goes that physicist James Franck was Professor
at Gottingen University in Germany when Robert Oppenheimer, then only
23, was being examined for his doctorate. On emerging from the oral
exam, Professor Franck said, "I got out of there just in time. He
was beginning to ask me questions."
In coming years, these Academic All-Staters will ask many
questions. Questions about their faith and future, why we're here,
and what we can become individually and as a nation. How can
education supply some answers? The same way this administrator and
these teachers have. By embodying the spirit of Oklahoma's past.
Think of the heroes who settled this state. They didn't
believe in government by bureaucrat. They believed in themselves.
They built homes out of sod, schoolhouses from scatch. Salt Fork,
Black Bear, Apache. Dirt floors. Log walls. Often, supplies were
limited -- but there were always enough hands. Pitching in.
Teaching classes. Fighting off everything from claim-jumpers to
bears.
These pioneers dreamed dreams as big as Oklahoma and made
their dreams come true. Like us, they knew where the future lay: In
their kids, through education. The Oklahoma Foundation for
Excellence can help us achieve our dreams. So that future
generations will proclaim, as the musical Oklahoma says, American
education, "you're doing fine -- OK."
Thank you for this occasion. Good luck to the Oklahoma
Foundation for Excellence. And God bless each and every one of you
that cares about our kids. Thank you all very, very much.
(Applause.)
END
8:25 P.M. EDT