Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary work of the teachers in Arkansas and across the country. As we prepare to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, it is clear that educators are in a class by themselves when it comes to resilience. Over the last 12 months, they have shown us what it means to be selfless and brave at a time when both were critically necessary. I am especially proud of teachers in Arkansas who rose to the challenge of leading classes 100 percent virtually for the first time and then embraced reopening our schools in August 2020. The sudden transition to virtual learning was an extraordinary hurdle, as educators had to learn new technology and new teaching techniques overnight. For all of us who have learned to use Zoom, it is worth taking a moment to imagine an online classroom with 30 wiggling first graders who want to show you their pets, or that you are teaching calculus to high school students who are preparing for an AP exam while attending class from their car at a Wi-Fi hotspot. Somehow, with great creativity and dedication, teachers embraced this mission and continued to do everything they could to reach each child. When Arkansas schools reopened in the fall, they were faced with a tremendous new challenge, from masks and social distancing to teaching classes, where some students were at their desks and others were on the screen. Arkansas teachers, once again, did the impossible for their students.…”