Arne Duncan

It is an issue of economic prosperity. By offering these young people the chance to earn a college degree, we are helping them establish their own economic security.

This is common-sense legislation that will open the doors of postsecondary education to thousands of deserving young people.

It is an issue of fairness. Thousands of young people have worked hard, but they are being denied the chance to build a better future.

I think students need great teachers of whatever color. But I will tell you that I've seen African-American male teachers have a profound, profound impact on young men who are desperately looking for strong father figures.

Less than two percent; less than one in 50 of our teachers around the country today are African-American men. If you put African-American men and Hispanic men it's only about 3.5 percent of our teacher workforce. Far too few of our…

In many, many states around the country we have been lying to children and lying to families.

Our ability to help those first-generation students, not just graduate from high school, but graduate from high school truly college- and career-ready, and then to graduate from college is critical.

One of the big emphases today is our desperate fight to maintain access for poor students to Pell grants.

We want to reward excellence, we want to reward innovation, and we want to put resources behind places that are willing to do some things differently.

The standards got reduced not because it is good for children or good for education, but because it is good for politicians.

We are tired of lying to children. We are tired of dumbing-down standards.

Anytime we cut back investments in this new vision of education, that hurts our country.