Education and Sharing Day is a day established by the United States Congress in honor of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It calls for increased focus on education, and recognizes the lifelong efforts of the Rebbe for education. Since 1978, Education & Sharing Day, USA has been proclaimed annually by the President on the Rebbe's birthday on the Jewish calendar (11 Nissan), which is four days before Passover and thus generally can fall between March 21 and April 21 on the Gregorian calendar. History In 1978, the U.S. Congress asked President Jimmy Carter to designate the Rebbe's birthday as the national Education and Sharing Day to recognize and pay tribute to his efforts for a better education for all American citizens. The Rebbe was an advocate for children and spoke about the need for each child to be given an education that would offer them the opportunities to succeed. He spoke about the need for education to focus not only on academic achievements but also on character building. The Rebbe's emissaries established a network of several thousand Jewish schools and educational centers in the United States and across the globe. The Rebbe often argued that the most important part of a child's education is instilling in him or her "[awareness of] a Supreme Being and a Law higher than man’s" or "fear or love of a force greater than man". To honor these accomplishments, his birth date has since been commemorated as Education & Sharing Day, U.S.A., by Congress and the President. Each year on that day, the President issues a proclamation which calls on American citizens to follow the example set by The Rebbe and focus on education and betterment of society. The goal of Education and Sharing Day, in the Rebbe's words, is to: "Put greater emphasis on the promotion of fundamental human rights and obligations of justice and morality, which are the basis of any human society, if it is to be truly human and not turn into a jungle." It stresses the need for mindfulness in the general education system. The Rebbe called for local governing bodies and schools to join the call and attention given to this day, and to make a point out of it around the country and around the world, to the point, the Rebbe envisioned, it will become a nationally celebrated day, the same way Mother's Day and Father's day are celebrated.