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PRESIDENT OBAMA: So on behalf of the American people,
thank you all for everything that you do. And congratulations.
I'm going to present this spiffy-looking award to Rebecca Mieliwocki.
(applause)
REBECCA MIELIWOCKIi: That is very heavy, that award right there.
I have a little bit of laryngitis this morning, so please forgive my croaky voice.
Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind introduction, and especially for taking your time to honor
American educators in the way you have.
Inviting us here to the White House to be recognized by you is
such a proud moment for us, for our families, and for our students.
Your commitment to us, to American children and to the
ideals inherent in a free public education are tremendously
inspiring, and I couldn't be prouder that you're my President.
(applause)
Thank you, Secretary Duncan, for being a dedicated
advocate to the strengthening of American education
in all of its forms and facets.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
(applause)
Thank you to my Burbank school family and
the California delegation for coming all this way
and for supporting me every step of the way,
and for cultivating a place where I can do great work with
students, students who are right now taking their state tests,
so go Yellow Jackets, do your best to make us really proud.
I know you're going to. Thank you to my parents, Bill and Sue,
for coming here today to see a dream come true.
My partners are themselves retired public schoolteachers,
and they devoted much of their lives to guiding, growing and loving young people, one of whom
was me. I think you did pretty well, don't you?
Yeah. To my mother and father-in-law, Tom and Jill,
and thank you for loving me as one of your own all this time.
And most importantly to my amazing husband, Duane,
and my son, Davis, your love and your laughter and your devotion
sustain and complete me. I could not be here today without your love.
I love you so much. Thank you. I stand here today with 53 of America's finest
educators, the 2012 State Teachers of the Year.
(cheering and applause)
A more dedicated, intelligent, compassionate,
hard-working group of professionals you will never meet.
And I stand here among them as one of them simply
blows me away. Why?
Because I am not 'the' best teacher in America. There isn't one.
All across this nation, there are millions of teachers who
do the work that I do, and many do it better. But what I do have are the qualities that
some of the best teachers have.
I have an absolute passion for my work. I have a bottomless well of belief in my students
and their potential. I have a thirst for getting better
at what I do every single day.
And I have a warm and welcoming heart for all students and the
unique gifts that they bring to my classroom. But underneath all of that, I have an unshakeable
understanding that with a strong education, children can do anything they set their minds to.
Our children are our future, and that I have
a hand in guiding and shaping that future compels me to make
every minute, every lesson, every moment with them count.
All across this nation, millions of teachers just like me are
working wonders in their classroom. And to be sure, the challenges that we face
are enormous and complex. There are barriers to student success that
we didn't create and which are far beyond our control,
but despite these burdens, teachers persevere. Every day here in America, teachers with patience
and creativity are opening doors for students
to reach deep within themselves to learn more, to solve problems,
to grow and to nurture their dreams. And that we do this work with conviction,
that's not unusual, it isn't even rare.
It happens in America's classrooms every day, and I need you to know that.
To my fellow educators here today and across this country,
I commend you for the magic you continue to make day in and day
out in your classrooms. You pull your students in with imaginative
lessons, and then you push your students to perform
the best they can every single day.
The devotion that you show to all of your students will reap a
lifetime of benefits, benefits that will continue to strengthen
this already exceptional nation. So teachers, I want to say to you,
be passionate about your work and your students, stay curious,
never stop learning, and bring the joy of what you know into
your classrooms and share it with your students, set the highest expectations for each and
every one of your students, but do me a favor, and set an even
higher set of goals for yourself.
You are a hero to someone and you may not even know it.
And if the future depends on your passion, your dedication,
your professionalism, we are in remarkably capable hands
and it is my honor to represent you. Thank you very much.
(applause)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right everybody, behave yourselves, no rabbit ears.
(laughter)
All right, everybody say cheese.