Anne Arundel County Councilman Dick Ladd visited Tuesday to present fifth-grade teacher Martha Gardner with a citation from the council for her recent Teacher of the Year award.
Ladd presented Gardner with the citation and flowers, recognizing her for being named on April 16.
Ladd and his legislative aid also brought the class vanilla ice cream, which they ate while he spoke to them.
"You are probably some of the luckiest fifth-graders in the whole country," Ladd said. "You're going to have the opportunity to go to some national-quality schools because you live right here."
Gardner said she was honored by the recognition, and hopes to succeed in the upcoming state Teacher of the Year awards this summer. And what about nationals?
"I'm just thinking about it one step at a time," she said.
Ladd also spent some time cautioning Gardner's students about the competition they'd face in the future—namely, a growing Chinese and Indian workforce. He said for every one fifth-grader in America there are four in China and six in India.
"I'm not trying to scare you," Ladd told the class. "You're getting a leg up here that many kids in this country won't. But you should remember that there are others who are going to line up behind you. I just wanted to say that you're lucky. And I'm delighted that you're here to have ice cream."
