In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to share a story with you about my mother and the influence she has had on my life. My mother was an inspiration to us growing up. After completing high school, my mother began college work at Winthrop, with dreams of a career. But she had to withdraw from school due to a lack of funds. Marriage and family soon followed. But she never gave up on her dreams.

When I was three -- with the encouragement of my father -- my mother went back to college. With three young children, her only times to study were early in the morning and late at night. There are many South Carolinians at night school and technical college who can identify with that kind of study schedule. But my mother kept at it - course after course - until she earned her bachelor's degree. That was just the beginning. The same year I graduated from high school, my mother earned her Ph.D. What followed was a distinguished career as an educator helping many non-traditional students like herself realize their dreams. My mother never gave up on her dreams, and she never gave up on her dreams for me.

My mother has taught me a lot. She taught me to set high expectations -- and to exceed them. She taught me to go out and prove myself in the wider world. And my mother taught me valuable lessons about perseverance.

Today, we are applying those lessons to our education initiatives. Last year, I signed the Family Respect Act into law. It designates the Friday before Mothers Day as "Family Respect Day." It also encourages school districts and students to adopt the use of courtesy titles such as ma'am and sir when addressing teachers, administrators and staff. This new law displays our commitment to respect in our homes, respect in our classrooms, and respect for our country.

This isn't the only way we are working to help families. First Steps empowers families and local communities to develop their own programs to help their children prepare for school. Efforts such as our Compact with Our Children encourage parents to take an active role in their child's education. And our character education initiative will reinforce the lessons of right and wrong that parents teach their children at home.

At a time like this, let's give thanks to our parents, our teachers and our friends. Their love and encouragement makes it possible for us to reach our dreams.