I have a policy about honesty and ass-kicking, which is, if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.

Great teachers will never be able to make up for bad parents, nor should they be expected to.

Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: Teachers? Teachers make a difference! Now what about you?

By the time these students enter the workforce, many of the jobs they will apply for ill be in industries that don't even exist yet. That's a hard future to prepare someone for. Teachers have their sights set on the real goal: not to produce Ivy League graduates, but to encourage the development of naturally curious, confident, flexible, and happy learners who are ready for whatever the future has in store.

The best teachers that I had were always the ones I never wanted to disappoint.

Who can teach when there are such lessons to be learned

I implore you, I entreat you and I challenge you to speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply question authority—you've got to speak with it too.