Bring Your Daughter to Work Day

BRING YOUR DAUGHTER TO WORK DAY

Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, today I am engaging in my own version of "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day." As we all know, this day does not fall on May 14, nor does it involve the daughter bringing along 40 of her friends, but this was the unique situation I faced today when my daughter Sarah stopped by my office with some of her schoolmates from the Twin Cities Academy in St. Paul, MN.

Like many other students from across the Nation, seventh and eighth graders from the Twin Cities Academy are in Washington this week for a school trip. Their plans include visiting the countless museums and monuments throughout the city, a Capitol tour, and also the chance to be with us today in the Senate Chamber.

I want to again welcome Sarah and her schoolmates to the Senate, and I am glad they have the opportunity to observe the activities of this body.

In honor of their visit, I want to talk a while on the importance of young people understanding how Government works. So that they can better follow along, and since I trust the students are familiar with it, I am going to use parts of the Twin Cities Academy mission statement as an example.

The Twin Cities Academy mission stresses collaboration between the school, parents, and the community to develop each child's talent, potential, and character. When this process succeeds, the mission statement says that the end result is a group of productive citizens who will contribute to sustaining American democracy.

Thomas Jefferson, one of the great leaders and legislators of this Nation, had a vision for public schools and the role they were to play in America, to create a public of informed and engaged citizens capable of sustaining the Republic he and his colleagues had formed. Twin Cities Academy had modeled its vision after these ideals, and they are committed to fostering productive citizens, as stated in its mission.

Having a strong history program at school is a good thing for young people like my daughter Sarah. Students need to understand how the three branches of Government work together. Also import is having the opportunity to come to Washington and witness first hand the rights and duties of citizens. It helps them realize what it means to celebrate freedom, to celebrate opportunity, and to be an optimist and have a hopeful spirit.

My good friend and colleague Senator ALEXANDER understands the importance of sharing these values with the next generation, which is why he introduced The American History and Civics Education Act, an act which will help us ensure young people grow up learning what it means to be an American. I was pleased to have the opportunity to cosponsor this legislation.

When their school trip comes to an end, I hope that my daughter Sarah and her schoolmates have thoroughly enjoyed all that they experienced in Washington, particularly my version of "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day."

I mentioned earlier in this statement how I hoped to give them an understanding of how Government works. If these Twin Cities Academy students were to look up the word "understand" in a thesaurus, they would see as a synonym the word "appreciate." I hope at the end of the day, these students have even a greater appreciation, not just understanding, of this great institution and our process of Government that makes us the greatest Nation in the world.

I yield the floor.