Proclamation 5782 -- Education Day, U.S.A., 1988

March 29, 1988

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Education that emphasizes the ethical values and principles upon which America was founded, and upon which all civilization rests, remains as vital to our country today as ever in our past. History, reason, experience, and the desires of the human heart teach us that individuals and nations alike need, in addition to technical knowledge and skills, all the wisdom, guidance, and inspiration that ethical values provide. We ourselves possess these treasures only because our ancestors cherished and preserved them through the ages; we are duty-bound to pass them along to our children, who need them and seek them just as much as we and members of every generation have needed them and sought them.

These truths are known and practiced now by more and more citizens and educators. One group that exemplifies this is Hasidic Judaism's worldwide Lubavitch movement, led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It is fitting that we salute his lasting achievements in education, as well as those of his late wife, the Rebbetzin Chaya Moussia Schneerson; of their many colleagues; and of everyone who fosters education that incorporates our prized heritage of ethical values.

In recognition of Rabbi Schneerson's dedication to our educational system, and in celebration of his 86th birthday, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 470, has designated March 29, 1988, as ``Education Day, U.S.A.'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this day.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 29, 1988, as Education Day, U.S.A., and call upon the people of the United States, and in particular our teachers and other educational leaders, to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twelfth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:51 a.m., March 30, 1988]