Hoyer Delivers Remarks at Naming Ceremony for The SEED School of Maryland
BALTIMORE, MD– Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) today delivered remarks at a naming ceremony for The SEED School of Maryland, the state's only public college-preparatory boarding school. The school's campus was named in honor of Ruth and Norman Rales. The SEED School of Maryland opened in 2008 and graduated its first high school graduating class last year. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
"Thank you, Josh.
"Your parents were dear friends and role models, and I am honored to be here today to participate in the naming of the Norman and Ruth Rales Campus.
"There is an ancient Jewish parable about a young person who comes across an old man planting a tree.
"The youth asked him: ‘How long will it take for your tree to bear fruit?'
"The old man answered: ‘70 years.'
"The youth asked: ‘Why would you plant a tree whose fruit you will not live to enjoy?'
"The old man replied: ‘Because when I was young, I found a fruitful world because of the trees my ancestors planted for me. Likewise, I am planting for the next generation.'
"My wife, Judy, hung a flannel board that read: ‘All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.'
"Like the old man in the parable, Norman and Ruth Rales planted seeds that will bear fruit for ‘all the tomorrows.'
"Their love and generosity will bless, as Elijah Cummings says, generations yet unborn whom we will never see.
"Norman and Ruth are surely with us in spirit today as we celebrate their legacy of community involvement, philanthropy, and commitment to social justice.
"To borrow from Shakespeare, they were ‘full of the milk of human kindness,' compelled by their experiences and compassion to nurture others and to sow the seeds of opportunity wherever they would take root.
"It is fitting that their names will forever be associated with this campus.
"Because of Norman and Ruth's generosity – and the generosity they taught to their sons – the students here at the seed school will be able to learn, achieve, and dream while being supported and nurtured by caring teachers, staff, and mentors.
"The SEED School of Maryland was created for the purpose of giving young people a strong education and the tools necessary to seize opportunities to better their lives and pursue college and careers.
"I just had an opportunity to tour the campus, where I saw students from across Maryland benefitting from innovative learning tools and passionate, committed teachers.
"The boarding system that serves as the hallmark of the SEED School model helps create a sense of community and comfort; brotherhood and sisterhood; acceptance; expectation; and inspiration.
"And the SEED School model works.
"Last year, the college acceptance rate for students here at the SEED School of Maryland was 100 percent.
"For its 400 students, the SEED School presents opportunities many would not have had elsewhere.
"Norman Rales knew what it was like to grow up without the promise of opportunity.
"Raised in an orphanage, he began his adult life with nothing more than five dollars, a toothbrush, and the clothes on his back.
"And his beloved Ruth was the daughter of immigrants who had survived the pogroms and came to this country with nothing but their dreams to build a better life for their daughter.
"Their difficult early experiences shaped their belief that personal success brings with it a responsibility to lift others up.
"Norman and Ruth Rales epitomized the Jewish tradition of ‘Tikkun Olam' – the precept that it is incumbent upon each of us to contribute to repairing an imperfect world.
"And our world is indeed filled with imperfections – hunger, homelessness, disease, and barriers to opportunity.
"The great Marylander Frederick Douglass observed: ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.'
"Norman and Ruth put their efforts toward both.
"And so must we.
"I've been proud to help launch a network of ‘Judith P. Hoyer Early Child Care and Family Education Centers' across our state to help close the achievement gap for children from low-income families entering elementary school.
"These ‘Judy Centers,' named for my wife, who was an early childhood education administrator in Prince George's County, co-locate essential early childhood education and critical social services for students and their parents all in one place.
"The Rales family have been generous supporters of the Judith P. Hoyer Foundation, which helps sustain the ‘Judy Centers.'
"Like ‘Judy Centers,' SEED Schools here in Maryland, in Washington, and in Miami are drawing on new and innovative practices to make education a tool for empowerment, opportunity, and equality.
"Together, they are putting into practice Douglass's directive that a strong future must be built from a strong start.
"Norman and Ruth Rales understood that lesson well.
"Throughout their lives and through the foundation that carries on their legacy, Norman and Ruth sought to address the imperfections they found in the world around them by sharing with others the success they had achieved.
"This precept repairing the world is so indicative of their lives – and, in particular, the life of my dear friend Norman, whom I first met in the early 1970's.
"And so today in their memory we continue to plant seeds that will bear fruit for generations to come.
"Seeds that Norman and Ruth left to us with instructions to plant and to nurture.
"Seeds that will change lives and bring enrichment to individuals and to our communities and our country.
"Seeds that will bloom a new generation of young scholars and achievers – ‘all the tomorrows' – who will surely be inspired by Norman and Ruth's memory to follow by their example and contribute to repairing the world around them.
"How proud Norman and Ruth were – and, I know, are – not only of the success that their sons have had but also how they have become seed-sowers themselves.
"How vividly we see that today.
"When Josh asked me to be a part of this ceremony, I recognized in his own passion for promoting education and opportunity the same one I saw in his parents.
"The seeds that he sows – through the RFI Foundation, his work with area schools and Howard University, and the Ruth Rales Comcast Kids Reading Network that he launched in his mother's memory – are helping to build strong children and stronger communities.
"Mitch and Steve have also followed in their parents' footsteps as generous promoters of education and the arts.
"Today, Josh and Susan, Mitch and Emily, and Steve and Lalage are passing Norman and Ruth's lessons of responsibility, compassion, and service on to the next generation of the Rales family: Aaron, Jaclyn, Austin, Maya, Matt, Amanda, Gregory, Alexander, and Stephanie.
"Each of them has a stake in continuing their grandparents' legacy.
"It is for each of them to engage in Tikkun Olam and plant seeds of their own.
"And to you, the students, I implore you to think of Norman and Ruth Rales whenever you witness injustice or need or despair – and be inspired by their example.
"Just as others have planted seeds to help you grow, you have an opportunity and a responsibility to be seed-sowers yourselves.
"I urge you not only to excel in your studies and seize the opportunities laid before you to attend college and pursue careers.
"I also urge you to make the principle of repairing the world a part of your lives too.
President Obama has spoken about how this principle has ‘enriched and guided' his own life.
"He said this at the White House last year:
"Tikkun Olam' – it brings the community together and helps repair the world. It creates a future for our children that once seemed unattainable."
"Repair the world.
"Plant seeds for tomorrow.
"Reach for success – and remember to share your success with others.
"That's what Norman and Ruth Rales did throughout their lives, and it is what their children continue to do.
"And it's what I hope they will continue to inspire us to do in ours.
"Thank you."