Tom Tancredo: “this week we are celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week. There have been a number of speeches on this floor. I have, in…”

“this week we are celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week. There have been a number of speeches on this floor. I have, in fact, come to this microphone before to extol the virtues of the teachers of America, the public school, the private school teachers who work so hard and contribute so much to the well-being of the children of this Nation. Today, however, Mr. Speaker, I want to rise in recognition of a particular part of that educational establishment that is not often recognized. And it was brought to my attention again, although I have long been aware of its existence, but it was brought to my attention again by a card I received in the mail not too long ago. Here it is, a little handwritten, hand-drawn and colored-in star here. It says, ``thank you, thank you, thank you.'' It goes all the way around, ``thank you very much.'' It is from a young man named Jerrod Padinama. It says: Dear Mr. Tancredo, thank you for giving us the privilege of home schooling. My home school co-op is studying the Constitution, and it is fun. I am 9 years old. I am in the third grade. I am praying for you. Jerrod Padinama. Well, Jerrod, thank you for your prayers. I sincerely appreciate them. But I tell my colleagues, this is really a very touching little card I received, and I have been holding on to it because I wanted to reference it in a way. The neat part is that this young man would take the time to send me this little card and draw it in.”