BILL REQ. #:  S-2169.3 

Read first time 03/06/09.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     TO THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, ARNE DUNCAN:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, President Barack Obama has captured the imagination of the nation's citizens; and
     WHEREAS, Presidents such as Abraham Lincoln have changed the course of society with proclamations of new societal norms and courses of action; and
     WHEREAS, Presidents such as John F. Kennedy have emboldened entire generations to pursue new courses of action in history such as putting a man on the moon, which powerfully focused the nation on education, science, innovation, and progress; and
     WHEREAS, President Barack Obama possesses the ability to mobilize a new movement to reinvent and elevate society's view of teaching as a valued service to the country and humankind; and
     WHEREAS, Teachers should be viewed as providers of knowledge, values, and civic action; and
     WHEREAS, Teachers are role models to our students and should reflect the cultural diversity of our nation; and
     WHEREAS, Our college students should be encouraged to aspire to become teachers and to view teaching as a viable and exciting career choice that will enable them to mentor students to be lifelong learners; and
     WHEREAS, Teachers who have a passion for and a commitment to teaching make an enormous impact on the lives of students and are improving their community by galvanizing student efforts to discover their own strengths and talents and assisting students to become our future leaders; and
     WHEREAS, The evolution of the role of teachers from instructors to mentors and community leaders will raise the prestige of teaching and, consequently, the quality and number of candidates drawn to the teaching profession; and
     WHEREAS, In times of economic peril we have an opportunity to focus on teachers and students who are the building blocks of our future and if the status and respect for our teachers can be increased it would enable a change in our culture that would lead to an improvement in our economic, educational, and societal future;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, and the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, commence proceedings to engage the nation with an awakening dialogue of the critical role teachers play in our economic future; may this awaken fervor, increase awareness, and motivate our most talented citizens to become teachers and be part of a new culture in teaching reform; may this new culture strive towards service and community engagement in order to increase the prestige and effectiveness of our education system; and may it create a strong and informed discourse on what our education system is, and needs to be.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.