Quote

Teachers are out there with a very difficult job, which they pursue with tireless dedication.

To get enough of the teachers we need, teaching has to be a great job where talented people are supported and rewarded.

Few things are more important to our country's future than recruiting and keeping great teachers in our schools.

Teachers are expendable, overworked, underpaid, and many times disrespected by students, parents and higher-ups. Nonetheless, these teachers still show up because there are some who are teachers indeed.

We're not trying to be the only route into teaching. We do put enormous energy into understanding what differentiates the most successful teachers.

If teaching isn't rewarding and challenging, we're going to continue to lose our best teachers to work in other fields.

If we want to recruit and retain high-quality teachers, it starts with a fair wage, adequate working conditions, and the resources and support to succeed. Remember: teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions.

However, the Government has made it clear that we do not encourage the recruitment of teachers from developing nations where there may be an adverse effect on the economy.

Well, teachers have been profoundly demoralized in recent years and are often treated with contempt by politicians. There's a great deal of reckless rhetoric in Washington about the mediocrity of the teaching profession - and I don't find that to be true at all.

Teachers have the hardest and most important jobs in America. They're building our nation. And we should appreciate them, respect them, and pay them well.