The jobs of the future, as you know so well, are knowledge-based. You need college-educated folks to do this work. And so the consequences for our country are absolutely devastating if we don't start to behave in very different ways.

In America, your zip code or your socioeconomic status should never determine the quality of your education.

If the goal is to dramatically improve college completion rates, not college-going rates by itself but college completion, it's not just a college problem. We need a big focus on early childhood education. Our early childhood education system is pretty good in this country. Not enough students have opportunity. And, very discouragingly, they lose their advantage because they go to poor schools after that. So, let's focus on our babies.

States should not balance their budgets on the backs of students.

When I ask teachers why they teach, they almost always say that it is because they want to make a difference in the lives of children.

Whether it's in an inner-city school or a rural community, I want those students to have a chance to take A.P. biology and A.P. physics and marine biology.

Wherever you find something extraordinary, you’ll find the fingerprints of a great teacher.