Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Teacher gets her due

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 9:17 a.m.

Exactly when Michael Milken first got interested in education is anybody's guess. I suspect it was in high school when he met Lori and convinced himself he would never win her hand in marriage if he didn't pay attention to his studies so he could amount to something as an adult.

Mike's history is, at the very least, a colorful one. His marriage, however, is rock solid, thanks to a great education and a fairy tale marriage. You see how things work out if you pay attention to your schoolwork!

Some 15 years ago Mike's interest in education took a quantum leap. He went from being a frustrated teacher, offering to teach any young child willing to listen to him, to a man with a powerful idea.

As one of this century's most brilliant financiers, Mike Milken knew how to hire the best and brightest and incent them to achieve far beyond what they themselves might have thought achievable. His belief in human capital as the cornerstone to real productivity paved the way toward a new concept in American business. People mattered most.

When the Milken Family Foundation created the National Educator Awards, it was an effort to lead the way in the one field of human endeavor that everyone can agree holds the most promise for our future: the education of our young people. As much as America has always mouthed the right words, our deeds have been found wanting when it comes to the rewards we offer those to whom we entrust our most precious resources -- our children.

The Milken Foundation has led the way which, unfortunately, has been mostly a lonely one because few, if any, large corporations or foundations have followed. And I can't think of one school district that has taken the bait, either. The bottom line is that our teachers are still working for the thrill of it because the money still stinks.

That brings me back to Monday.

Over the years I have had the great and good fortune of attending the Educator Awards luncheons and dinners at which Nevada's educators have been recognized for their singular achievements. Besides the community and peer group recognition, there was an added benefit. It was a check for $25,000 which, in some cases, matched the yearly salary paid to the teacher.

Over the years some 70 Nevada teachers and administrators have benefited directly with hundreds and thousands more benefiting indirectly because the awards don't stop with the check. Each year past recipients meet in Los Angeles where they learn from one another and a host of other experts who discuss the latest and greatest in the education field. They bring that knowledge home and put it to work.

But this week, for the first time, I was invited to be part of the surprise, the time at which the winner of the Milken Award gets the good news. When Mike called me and told me to show up at Chaparral High School, it was like going home because my daughter graduated from that school. He didn't, however, tell me who the winner was.

That I learned from Clark County Superintendent Carlos Garcia, who gave me the heads up when he saw me fumbling with my camera. I think he wanted to give me a fighting chance of getting the right picture in the frame when the name was announced.

When the moment of truth came, when Mike announced the purpose for the assemblage of teachers, community leaders and students, there was a recognition, it seemed to me, by everyone who the recipient would be. Everyone except for the person whose name was yet to be announced.

When Mike said the name, Ruth Litterini, the room exploded with applause and Ruth exploded into tears. She may have been the only person in that room who expected someone else to be named. She said as much when she finally composed herself to say thank you. Her thank you, of course, mirrored her 20 years in the teaching profession. She thanked her students for allowing her the chance to teach them.

When one of the students was asked afterward if she was surprised that Mrs. Litterini received such a prestigious award, her answer told the story.

"When we finally learned that we had been assembled in that room to witness a Chaparral teacher receiving the National Educator Award, there was no question in any of our minds, not the students, not the other teachers and not the administrators whose name would be called," she explained.

The only person who was truly surprised, the only person who would have guessed it was someone else, the only person who would have thought others more deserving, it appears, was Ruth Litterini.

That's what made Monday such a beautiful day. We need more days just like that.