Arne Duncan Quotes

I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina.

Even in a time of fiscal austerity, education is more than just an expense.

Borrowing to pay for college used to be the exception; now it's the rule.

Wherever you find something extraordinary, you’ll find the fingerprints of a great teacher.

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

We've seen more reform in the last year than we've seen in decades, and we haven't spent a dime yet. It's staggering how the Recovery Act is driving change.

Teachers support evaluations based on multiple measures: student growth, classroom observation and feedback from peers and parents.

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.

Education is the civil rights issue of our generation.

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.

About two-thirds of bachelor's degree holders borrow to go to school, and on average they're graduating with more than $26,000 in debt.

To encourage more top-caliber students to choose teaching, teachers should be paid a lot more, with starting salaries more in the range of $60,000 and potential earnings of as much as $150,000.

The arts significantly boost student achievement, reduce discipline problems, and increase the odds students will go on to graduate from college.

Surveys show that many talented and committed young people are reluctant to enter teaching for the long haul because they think the profession is low-paying and not prestigious enough.

Whether it's in an inner-city school or a rural community, I want those students to have a chance to take A.P. biology and A.P. physics and marine biology.

Teachers say their schools of education did not adequately prepare them for the classroom. They would have welcomed more mentoring and feedback in their early years.

I think every student needs access to technology, and I think technology can be a hugely important vehicle to help level the playing field.

Hungry children are distracted children. We want to make sure nothing gets in the way of our children performing well academically, including hunger.

Almost 24 million children - one in three - are likely growing up without their father involved in their lives.

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

We all have a role to play - the President, Congress, parents, students and schools - in making college affordable and keeping the middle class dream alive.

Money is not the reason that people enter teaching.

No one is mandating merit pay.

Schools and districts and unions are working together on some really innovative things.

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.

There was nothing more important I could do than be supportive as a dad.

States should not balance their budgets on the backs of students.

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

There's so much that we're doing wrong today. And studies show we're one of three countries that doesn't invest more in disadvantaged communities.

I think it's my job to tell the truth.

Other countries haves passed us by. They're outworking us. They're outcompeting us. We have got to wake up and we have got to start moving.

A postsecondary education is the ticket to economic success in America.

Other countries have outeducated us. They have made this a priority. And a big part of what I'm trying to do, frankly, is raise the profile of education and get America to wake up.