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.

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.

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

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.

She read books quickly and compulsively, paperback after paperback, as if she might drift away without the anchor of the printed page.

The doc swore she came out screamin' in the key of E.

God, life changes faster than you think.

I always have a backlog of like seven movies that I want to make.

I don't want to mess up my life. You only get one shot. I don't want to let my fans or anybody else down. So, I always think before I act. And as long as I do that, I'll be okay.

The pursuit of material gain is ultimately empty when measured against eternity.

There's always going to be a need for activism; there's always going to be a need for you and me doing the right thing, being very Lincoln-sonian in looking out for each other.

Nothing in the world is like this- a bright white page with pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil the soft hush of it moving finally one day into letters.

The classroom should be an entrance into the world, not an escape from it.

As the best wine doth make the sharpest vinegar, so the deepest love turns to the deadliest hate.