|
Most of us
have personal heroes. We have people in our lives who touched us in
a way that inspired us to be better, to be stronger, to strive higher.
In my life, John W. Gardner was such a man.
In beginning my sixth term of office this January, making me the longest-serving
county superintendent currently holding office in California, I am dedicating
this term to the man who will always stand, for me, as the role model
and benchmark for integrity and dignity. His death in February 2002
leaves a void that may never again be filled.
Let me explain.
As President Lyndon Johnson’s secretary of health, education, and
welfare from 1965 to 1968, Mr. Gardner is widely considered an architect
of the educational and social programs of the Great Society. He helped
the Johnson administration win congressional approval of laws that still
form the framework for the federal role in supporting K-12 education
and helping students pay for college.
His department also enforced educational compliance with the protections
against racial discrimination set by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What’s
more, he helped secure the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, creating the Title I act for disadvantaged students. In
January of 2002, President Bush signed the latest revisions to the act,
which continues to provide a lifeline to so many at-risk students.
Mr. Gardner was also instrumental in starting the Medicare program and
public television.
A famous quote of his at the time captures his vision and enthusiasm.
He said, “What we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities
disguised as insoluble problems.”
That period, under John Gardner’s leadership, was described by
scholars as an especially bright period for health, education, and science
in the United States.
Before assuming his Cabinet position, Mr. Gardner had served as president
of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching.
His books Self Renewal and Excellence are still considered classics
in their thoughtful and commonsense exploration of the relationship
between the individual and society. With a deep grasp of the paradoxes
in American society, Mr. Gardner had the unique ability to cut to the
chase, as evidenced by another famous Gardner quote: “Freedom and
responsibility, liberty and duty: that’s the deal.”
I first met John Gardner when my wife Barbara and I lived in Atlanta,
shortly after John Gardner founded Common Cause, a citizens’ advocacy
organization that has pushed for campaign finance changes and open records
laws. Barbara and I became Georgia Common Cause co-chairs and through
the years Mr. Gardner provided encouragement, support, inspiration,
and practical advice.
Twenty years later, shortly after Mr. Gardner founded the Independent
Sector, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that promotes volunteerism
and community involvement, I was at a turning point in my career and
sought his counsel. He encouraged me to run for county superintendent
in Santa Barbara.
Both during the campaign and after the election, Gardner was always
available, providing counsel and support. He visited us in Santa Barbara
and included a reference to our work in his book, On Leadership.
As a birthday present to me in 1980, Barbara gave me one of my favorite
John Gardner quotes, which she wrote in calligraphy. It is still on
display in my office and it remains the guiding principle of our work:
“Put your faith in ideas, ideals, movements, goals. Don’t
put your faith in organizational forms. Human beings are forever building
the church and killing the creed.”
For the past 10 years, Mr. Gardner was a professor of public service
at his alma mater, Stanford University, where he also taught in the
university’s school of education. He continued working and contributing
tirelessly until he passed in February 2002.
He once reportedly advised a colleague, who sought his advice on a difficult
decision that involved both risk and reward: “You don’t want
to die with the music still in you.”
John Gardner did not. His music played fully and it is still with us.
As Donald Kennedy wrote in a tribute to John Gardner: “What a life,
what a legacy, what an uncommon man.”
In celebration of his life, his inspiration to me personally, and the
legacy he has left for millions of others, I dedicate this new term
to him. In doing so, I pledge to continue to share Gardner’s deep
commitment to children — to their education, their well-being,
and their future as members of a caring society. I pledge to work tirelessly,
in the spirit of my personal mentor and hero, to reward the trust and
confidence the community has placed in me for so many years.
|
