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Of all the hard jobs around, one of the hardest is being a good teacher.

Being a teacher is back-breakingly difficult work. It is also extremely important work.

I believe there's not a harder job in the world than being a teacher, and there isn't a job with a more direct impact on the performance of our students.

Student teaching is the hardest job there is.

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

Study after study affirms what I saw in the classroom every day as superintendent of Denver Public Schools: Nothing makes a bigger difference for student learning than great teaching.

I was a disadvantaged child from a non-educated family, yet I had the advantage of being in the company of great teachers.

Teaching was the hardest work I had ever done, and it remains the hardest work I have done to date.

I think it's easiest to teach by example. My dad didn't tell us to work hard; we just saw how hard he worked. I know I have shortcomings - like a short fuse - but I've learned you can't come home from a long day of work and snap at the kids.

Being superintendent or the superintendent's chief of staff is important work, but there's no chance it's as difficult as being a teacher, and I hesitate to say that it's as important.