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Weekly Address: Congress Should Back Plan
to Hire Teachers
With students starting to head back to school, President Obama used this weeks address todiscuss the critical role that education plays in Americas future. Nothing is more important to a
childs education than a great teacher. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of teachers will not begoing back to school this year, partially because of budget cuts at the state and local level. That
means more crowded classrooms, fewer kindergarten and preschool programs, and shorter
school years and weeks. President Obama has proposed a jobs bill that would help states preventfurther layoffs and rehire teachers, but Congress refuses to pass it. Instead, the budget that almost
every Republican voted for would further cut education in order to give tax breaks to
millionaires and billionaires. The White House has taken steps including investing in science
and math, giving states more flexibility on No Child Left Behind, and increasing financial aid formillions of young people, but in order to help America lead in the 21st century, our elected
officials in Congress must stand up for our nations young people to help ensure that we have thestrongest education system in the world.
The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at
www.whitehouse.govat 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, August 18, 2012.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
The Weekly AddressThe White House
August 18, 2012
Hi, everybody. This week, I spent some time traveling across Iowa talking with folks about
rebuilding an economy where if you work hard, you and your family can get ahead.
And along the way, I stopped in at Cascade High School to thank the teachers there for doing
such a great joband wish them luck as they head back to the classroom for this school year.
Theres nothing more important to our countrys future than the education we give our kids. And
theres no one more important to that education than the person at the front of the classroom.
Teachers matter. Most work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own
pocket for school suppliesjust to make a difference. They give everything for our kidsandin return, we should invest in them.
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But heres the thing: this year, several thousand fewer educators will be going back to
school. Since 2009, weve lost more than 300,000 education jobs, in part, because of budget cutsat the state and local level.
Think about what that means for our country. At a time when the rest of the world is racing to
out-educate America; these cuts force our kids into crowded classrooms, cancel programs forpreschoolers and kindergarteners, and shorten the school week and the school year.
Thats the opposite of what we should be doing as a country. States should be making education
a priority in their budgets, even in tough fiscal times. And Congress should be willing to help
outbecause this affects all of us.
Thats why part of the jobs bill that I sent to Congress last September included support for states
to prevent further layoffs and to rehire teachers whod lost their jobs. But here we area yearlater with tens of thousands more educators laid offand Congress still hasnt done anythingabout it.
In fact, the economic plan that almost every Republican in Congress voted for would make the
situation even worse. It would actually cut funding for educationwhich means fewer kids in
Head Start, fewer teachers in our classrooms, and fewer college students with access to financialaidall to pay for a massive new tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.
Thats backwards. Thats wrong. That plan doesnt invest in our future; it undercuts our future.
If we want America to lead in the 21st
century, nothing is more important than giving everyone
the best education possiblefrom the day they start preschool to the day they start their career.
Thats why we launched a national competition to improve our schools. And for less than onepercent of what our nation spends on education each year, weve encouraged almost every stateto raise their standardsthe first time thats happened in a generation.
Thats why weve invested in math and science education, and given states more flexibility onNo Child Left Behind.
And thats why weve reformed the student loan program to put students before big banks, andincreased financial aid for millions of young peoplebecause in America, higher education
cannot be a luxury; its an economic necessity every family should be able to afford.
This is a country where no matter what you look like or where you come from, if youre willingto study and work hard, you can go as far as your talents will take you. You can make it if you
try. I am only the President of the United States today because of the chance my education gaveme. I want every child in America to have that chance. Thats what Im fighting for. And as
long as I have the privilege of being your President, thats what Im going to keep fighting for.
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
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[PRESIDENTIAL WEEKLY ADDRESS ASSESSMENT PHASE A.a START OF]
Weekly Address: Congress Should Back Plan
to Hire Teachers
With students startingto head back to school, President Obama used this weeks address todiscuss the critical role that educationplays in Americas future.
[ Old English wice< Germanic, "series, succession"]
congress \'k-grs also -rs, Brit usu'k-"gres\ n [L
congressus, fr. congredito come together, fr. com- +
gradito go more atgrade] (1528)
1a: the act or action of coming together and meeting
b:coitus
2: a formal meeting of delegates for discussion and usu
action on some question
3: the supreme legislative body of a nation and esp. of
republic
4: an association usu. made up of delegates from
constituent organizations
[12th century. Probably < Old English styrtan"to
jump" < Germanic]
education \"e-j-'k-shn\n (1531)
1a: the action or process of educating or of being
educated ; also: a stage of such a process b: theknowledge and development resulting from an
educational process a person of little ~
2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of
teaching and learning in schools
educational \-shnl, -sh-nl\adj
educationally \-\adv
[15th century. Via Latin < Greek
krisis"decisive moment" < krinein
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Nothingis more important to a childs education than a great teacher[The Mind is the FirstTeacher]. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of teachers will not be going back to school this year,
partially because of budget cuts at the state and local level.
That means more crowded classrooms, fewer kindergarten and preschool programs, and shorter
school years and weeks.
[ Old English ninc< earlier forms of no1 +
thing]
1school \'skl\ n [ME scole, fr. OE scl, fr. L schola, fr. Gk schol leisure, discussion, lecture,
school; perh. akin to Gk echein to hold more atscheme] (bef. 12c)
1 : an organization that provides instruction: as a: an institution for the teaching of
children b:collegeuniversityc (1): a group of scholars and teachers pursuing knowledge
together that with similar groups constituted a medieval university (2): one of the four
faculties of a medieval university (3): an institution for specialized higher education often
associated with a university the ~ of engineering d: an establishment offering specialized
instruction a secretarial ~ driving ~s
a room, especially in a school or
college, where classes are held
1program \'pr-"gram, -grm\ n [Fprogramme
agenda, public notice, fr. Gkprogramma, fr.
prographein to write before, fr.pro- before +
graphein to write more atcarve] (1633)
1 [LLprogramma, fr. Gk]: a public notice
2a: a brief usu. printed outline of the order to be
followed, of the features to be presented, and the
persons participating (as in a public performance) b:the performance of a program ; esp: a performance
broadcast on radio or television
3: a plan or system under which action may be
taken toward a goal
[ Old English gar< Indo-European]
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President Obama has proposed a jobs bill that would help states prevent further layoffs and
rehire teachers, but Congress refuses to pass it.
Instead, the budget that almost every Republican voted for would further cut education in orderto give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.
The White House has taken steps including investing in science and math, giving states more
flexibility on No Child Left Behind, and increasing financial aid for millions of young people,but in order to help America lead in the 21st century, our elected officials in Congress must stand
up for our nations young people to help ensure that we have the strongest education system in
the world.
[14th century. < French proposer"put forward"
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[PRESIDENTIAL WEEKLY ADDRESS ASSESSMENT PHASE A.a END OF]