Remarks of Secretary Paige, Alpha Kappa Alpha Convention in Orlando, FL
FOR RELEASE:
July 10, 2002
Thank you, Carolyn (House-Stewart). I appreciate the welcome.
Every day I'm reminded what an honor it is to serve as Secretary of Education. And events like this just bolster that feeling.
I thank all the ON TRACK graduates for giving the greatest gift you can possibly give to a child: your time and talent.
And I thank your great leaders for inviting me here today: Dr. Betty James and Dr. Norma White. And of course, one of our greatest national treasures, Dr. Dorothy Height.
It is an incredible honor to be a part of this gathering of strong women whose courageous commitment has lifted and empowered so many in our country and around the world.
Remember when we first learned grammar in grade school? They taught us that a noun is a word that describes a person, a place or a thing—like a teacher. A library. A book.
And they taught us that a verb is a word that expresses action—the Tazmanian devil of grammar. Just a blur of activity—always making things happen in sentences.
That's how I see the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the NCNW. The dictionary will tell you that, as someone's mother or sister or daughter or grandmother or aunt or best friend, you are a NOUN.
But in my book, you're also VERBS. Out there fighting for families, for education, and for justice... Making a difference in the lives of children... Working to solve problems—not just talk about them.
I am reminded of the story the President likes to tell about the minister who Sunday after Sunday had his sermons interrupted by one parishioner who kept calling out, "Use me Lord! Use me!"
Finally one Sunday, the pastor pulled the man aside and said, "The Lord has answered your prayer. He would like you to sand down all the pews before next week."
The pastor figured that was the last he would hear from that parishioner. But the very next week—midway through his sermon—the man called out again: "Use me Lord! Use me—but only in an advisory capacity!"
Our society has plenty of advisors. What we need are more doers like each of you—taking the initiative and making a difference in the lives of others.
And I'm proud and honored that one of the ways you've chosen to make a difference is by partnering with the Department of Education to help meet the President's goal for every child to be educated, with no child left behind.
We have a lot of work to do.
As Secretary of Education, I get lots of mail from children begging for things like shorter school days... less homework and... better cafeteria food.
But many children have more serious things on their minds—like Brianna, a New Jersey 8th grader who wrote to ask: "What do you believe are the most important issues facing elementary or high school education in the United States today?"
That's a great question—and it goes to the very heart of our new education reforms that President Bush signed into law January 8th—the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
The most important issue we face is the achievement gap—between those who have and those who don't—between those who are hopeful and those who are hopeless.
Fortunately, the education reforms of No Child Left Behind are going to slam shut that achievement gap.
Now you may not have heard about this new law. But that actually may be a tribute to the spirit and the strength of it.
This was a massive overhaul that touched on every aspect of our education system. The bill itself ran nearly 700 pages long. Think War and Peace.
Yet missing from the debate in Congress was the usual rancor that grabs headlines. Why was that?
I'll tell you why.
There was agreement by both Democrats and Republicans alike—in both houses of Congress—that now is the time for our nation to commit itself to a bold goal of educating every child in our public schools. Not just some. But every single child—regardless of race, income or zip code.
And it all started because this President believes that the most sacred duty of government is to educate its children. Yet national report cards reveal an education system that for too long has failed too many children in our nation's classrooms.
Think about it: Since 1965, we've spent trillions of state, federal and local tax dollars and still:
- 2 out of 3 fourth graders can't read proficiently
- 7 out of 10 inner-city and rural fourth graders can't read at the most basic level
- Nearly a third of college freshmen need remedial classes before they can handle entry level courses
- And America's 12th graders rank among the lowest in math and science achievement among their counterparts in other industrialized nations
President Bush recognized that to solve a problem of this magnitude you must first create a framework for change.
Our new education reforms provide that framework... by insisting on accountability and results... by providing local control and flexibility... by empowering parents to take a lead in their children's education... and by insisting on teaching methods that work.
We have also provided significant resources.
Federal funding for education is at an all-time high.
We now have the largest education budget for disadvantaged children in U.S. history—double what the Department of Education received only a few years ago in 1996.
And the President's most current budget request to Congress calls for $56.5 billion in discretionary funding for education—a 34 percent increase over education funding levels when he took office.
Reforms plus resources—that's the recipe for improving our schools.
Now taxpayers know what they're getting for their hard-earned money. And parents know if their children are learning.
And if they're not learning, if schools are not meeting their mission, then moms and dads no longer have to stand helplessly by and watch every last spark of curiosity die in their children's eyes.
They can choose one-on-one tutoring, or after-school help, or enroll their children in a better public school.
I was Superintendent of the 7th largest school district in the country and I am a proud advocate of our public schools. President Bush's daughters attended public school and he loves teachers so much he married one.
But we are just as serious as we can be about implementing these new reforms.
Because we know what a difference they are already making in the lives of children all across our great nation.
Malcolm X said, "Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world."
Don't we know it. So, frankly, I don't understand those who criticize our efforts.
Whose children do they think we're talking about when we say no child left behind?
We're talking about kids so far down on the achievement scale they're not even a blip on the radar.
We're talking about national report cards that show 40 percent of white 4th graders can read—and only 12 percent of black 4th graders can read.
In the 19 years since "A Nation at Risk" started a wave of well-intentioned school reform efforts, too many children—mostly urban and mostly African American—are still falling through the cracks.
Nineteen years later, the failures and dreams deferred continue unabated.
Functional illiteracy in America's largest cities is estimated as high as 50 percent. And although dropout prevention programs abound, half the 9th graders in big-city schools will quit anyway.
It is undisputed that American students still lag far behind their European and Asian counterparts in math, science, and technology.
And who's very often bringing up the rear of the rear?
African American children.
This isn't what our ancestors sacrificed their possessions, their safety and even their lives for.
This isn't what Rosa Parks hung onto her bus seat for. Or what Dorothy Height and AKA and the NCNW fought so long and hard for.
This isn't what countless others endured discrimination and worse for.
I was in Houston recently for a Juneteenth celebration. And I spoke about that June 19th in 1865 that gave the holiday its name—the day when the news first reached Galveston, Texas, that slaves were free.
Back then, it took everyone a few minutes to read the fine print and see that President Lincoln had actually issued the Emancipation Proclamation 2 1/2 years earlier.
Imagine how it must have felt to find out that everyone else had been free for 2½ years before you got the memo.
Some were hopping mad. And rightfully so.
The President had signed a piece of paper guaranteeing them the opportunity to get out from under the oppression that had prevented them from getting an education, or holding a job, or providing for their families... oppression that had destroyed entire generations of families.
This piece of paper that the President signed 2½ years earlier empowered them to build better lives for themselves and their children... Empowered them to make choices—real choices—about what they wanted their future to look like.
They would have liked to have known that great news a lot earlier.
Some six months ago, President Bush signed a piece of paper... that guarantees greater opportunity for our children to get out from under an oppressive education system that has held too many down for too long... a system rife with the soft bigotry of low expectations... and robbed too many of their future.
That piece of paper that President Bush signed—the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001—empowers parents to make choices—real choices—about what we want our children's future to look like.
And we don't have to wait 2 1/2 years for the news to arrive.
This President put his finger on it when he said: "Education is the new civil right."
We cannot recover those wasted years. But we can make sure it doesn't happen again.
We have some big plans in store. I will unveil more details in the coming months—and I have no doubt that they are going to bring out the VERB in all of you.
Sojourner Truth could have been talking about the women in this room when she said:
"If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, then these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right-side up again."
For too many of our children, the world is upside down. But that's going to change—with your help and your prayers.
And years from now, people are going to look back on this historic moment in time and say, "That was the tipping point for education."
That's when they raised the bar and student achievement began to soar.
That's when leadership triumphed over politics and no child was left behind.
That's when we created great schools worthy of a great nation.
That's when all Americans—no matter the color of their skin or the accent of their speech—finally got a fair shot at achieving their dreams.
God bless you all. And God bless America.
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