奥巴马2016年教师节演讲：这才是教育的真正目的！

And we unleashed a race to the top, convincing every state to raise its standards so students are prepared for success in college and for future careers. And we listened to parents who wanted subjects like computer science taught in our schools. And we listened to teachers who have shown why cookie-cutter solutions don’t always work. We’re empowering states and communities to set their own standards for progress with accountability. And because nobody thinks our students need to spend more time filling in bubbles on standardized tests, we’re starting to give educators like those behind me the flexibility to spend more time teaching creatively than they're spending teaching to a test. （Applause.）

Now, that doesn’t mean that all our problems are solved. You know it better than I do. In too many states, we are underfunding public education. And it is the job of state legislators and of governors to recognize that the wellbeing of their state and their communities and their families and their kids requires them to step up. （Applause.） In too many school districts, we still have schools that, despite great efforts by a lot of great teachers, are still not getting our kids prepared the way they need to be prepared. And we've got to be willing to be honest when something is not working and say, all right, let’s try something different. And sometimes, we won't necessarily get it right the first time.

But the reason I think -- I want to bring this up. This wasn’t in my prepared remarks -- （laughter） -- but I think it's important. So often now, the debate swings back and forth. You got some folks who say resources and money don’t make a difference, and the problem is all the teachers' unions and they want to break up the schools, and they think vouchers are all the answer, or some other approach. And then on the other side you got folks who just know that argument is wrong, but too often it sounds like it's just a defense of the status quo.

And the fact of the matter is, is that we do have to do better in too many of our schools. We need more teachers like this in all of you. We've got to make the profession more attractive. We do have to have accountability in the classroom. That doesn’t mean forcing you to teach to the test, but we've got to come up with measures that are meaningful, so that if somebody doesn’t have the skills that Jahana or these other teachers have, that they can start developing it and we know what to look for. We've got to make sure that we're setting our sights high.

And although I am very proud of the work that we've done, I know we're not there yet. And we may have replaced No Child Left Behind, which was a relief for a lot of folks, but the absence of something that wasn’t working as well as it should is not the presence of the kind of work that remains to be done.

So, in our country, it's a little harder than in some other countries, because we've got diverse populations, and we got folks coming from different backgrounds and starting off in tougher circumstances. But our Teacher of the Year here stands as proof that you can't set expectations high enough for our kids. There's magic in those kids. We just have to find it. We have to unleash it. We have to nurture it. We have to support it. We have to love them. And then we have to tell them precisely because we love you, you're going to work harder, and you're going to do better. And we're going to stay on you.

That's what we have to do. And we can't just leave it to the teachers -- because if our notion is we drop off our kids and then the teacher is doing everything, and then our job is done, it's not going to work.

So this is why my administration launched Teach to Lead -- （applause） -- to give teachers a greater voice in the policies that affect them every day.

And I'm going to close by just talking about a letter I received at the beginning of this school year from a teacher in central Virginia named Danny Abell. There's Danny. （Applause.） There's a reason why he got a good spot -- （laughter） -- because he knew I was going to talk about him. So Danny asked his students if any of them wanted to be a teacher when they grew up. And no one raised their hands. And that worried him. So he wrote me to ask what I’d say if one of my daughters told me she wanted to become a teacher. And I mean this -- this is the God's honest truth -- if Sasha or Malia wanted to be teachers, I will tell them I could not be prouder of what you've done. （Applause.） And I'd tell them to be the kind of teachers who don't just show her students how to get the correct answer, but how to be curious about the world and how to care for the people around her, and how to analyze facts and evidence, and how to tell stories, and how to believe in their ability to shape their own destiny.

In other words, I’d tell her to be like Jahana and to be like each of the educators behind us here today, and the kinds of teachers that you see in classrooms in every state and every territory, and the District of Columbia. I'm so proud of all of you for the high standards you set for your students, for your fellow teachers. Thank you for making our nation stronger.

And now, Jahana, please join me to accept this award from America’s educators –- the crystal apple -– as the National Teacher of the Year. （Applause.）