Most teachers still say they love teaching though they wouldn't mind a little more respect for their challenging work and a little less blame for America's educational shortcomings.

City Year is taking on some of the toughest work in education.

To be clear, we the Department of Education want curriculum to be driven by the local level. We are by law prohibited from directing curriculum. We don't have a curriculum department.

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.

It's fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from sort of white suburban moms who, all of a sudden, their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were, their schools aren't quite as good as they thought they were. And that's pretty scary.

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

The cost of college should never discourage anyone from going after a valuable degree.