I graduated from Bowdoin College and went to the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Then I left and took a job teaching really poor inner-city white kids in Boston. It was interesting to me because I'd never been around poor whites before.

Many schools today are sacrificing social studies, the arts and physical education so children can cover basic subjects like math, English and science.

Over the past five years, I've met several presidents, several secretaries of education ... and there is no plan. If you want to save your children, you're going to have to do it yourself. It's just us.

If you raise a child, there's no time, you can't be a great parent.

One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist. I was like what do you mean he's not real. And she thought I was crying because it’s like Santa Claus is not real and I was crying because there was no one coming with enough power to save us.

Build an organization that can tackle the tough things and keep moving.

Education is the only billion dollar industry that tolerates abject failure.