Now, that doesn’t mean testing is going to go away; there will be testing.  But the point is, is that we need to refine how we’re assessing progress so that we can have accountability without rigidity¹ -- accountability that still encourages creativity inside the classroom, and empowers teachers and students and administrators².

Of course, we also know that better standards, better assessments³ and a better curriculum won’t make a difference without outstanding teachers.  Every day in this country, teachers are doing a heroic job for their kids -- (applause) -- every day.  They’re taking on the problems that follow students into class, come in early to re-write lessons, spending hours after school tutoring students.  I know; my sister is a teacher. In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders,” and I think it’s time we treated our teachers with the same level of respect right here in the United States of America.  (Applause.)

But if we’re serious about treating teachers that way, if we’re serious about educating all our kids with an excellent teacher, then we’re going to have to fix No Child Left Behind.

What No Child Left Behind says is that teachers need to be certified⁴ before they step into the classroom.  Now, certification can be an important measure of the quality of the teacher, and obviously we want teachers to be well qualified⁵.  But when the quality of a teacher can make or break a child’s education, we’ve got to make sure our certified teachers are also outstanding teachers -- teachers who can reach every last child. (Applause.)

And so what we need to do is a better job preparing and supporting our teachers, measuring their success in the classroom, holding them accountable.  We’re going to have to stop making excuses for the occasional bad teacher.  We’re going to have to start paying good ones like the professionals that they are.  (Applause.)  If we truly believe that teaching is one of the most valued professions in society -- and I can’t think of a more important profession -- then we’ve got to start valuing our great teachers.  (Applause.)

And there are a lot of ways of valuing teachers.  I don’t know any teacher who got into it for the pay.  (Laughter.)  The teachers who are here, you got into it for the kids; for the satisfaction of feeling like your passing on knowledge that these young people will use and carry on for the rest of their lives.

So we need to reward you by letting you make more of a difference for your kids.  We need to build on what’s being done here at Kenmore, give our best teachers more time to learn from each other, more time to mentor⁶ each other, more responsibilities in their schools.  And to replace the Baby Boomers who are retiring in the coming years, we’re going to have to recruit a whole new generation of teachers -- including 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade.

So these are the steps we’re going to have to take to fix No Child Left Behind.  And together with what we’re already doing to make college more affordable⁷ for millions more students, I’m confident these reforms will help us meet the goal that I set when I took office -– which is, by the end of the decade we will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.  We’ll be number one again.  That’s my priority.  (Applause.)

So these steps will require reforms.  They’ll require a change in rules and standards and even attitudes.  But let me just point out there’s no avoiding the fact they’ll also cost some money.  Fixing our failing schools costs money.  It requires reform, but it costs some money.  Recruiting and rewarding the best teachers will cost money.  Making it possible for families to send their kids to college costs money.

Now, after a decade of deficits⁹, there isn’t a lot of money to go around.  I understand that.  And for too long, the government has been spending more than it’s been taking in, and we can’t keep that up.  We’re going to have to cut whatever spending we can afford to do without.

So I’ve called on a five-year freeze on annual domestic spending.  That will cut the deficit⁸ by more than $400 billion over the next decade, making that kind of spending a much smaller share of the economy -- smaller than it’s been in 50 years.  Right now, we’re sitting down with Republicans and Democrats¹⁰ to find other ways to get our deficits under control.

But even as we do, we can’t be reckless（鲁莽的） and we can’t be irresponsible about how we cut.  Let me make it plain:  We cannot cut education.  (Applause.)  We can’t cut the things that will make America more competitive.

Think about what happens in your own family when somebody loses a job or has an illness, and you need to cut back.  What do you do?  You start by skipping that vacation you’d been planning, or you see what’s on TV instead of going to the movies.  Maybe you start packing your own lunch.  There are a whole bunch of things that you might do.  The last thing you’re going to do is to dip into your child’s college savings¹¹.  That’s too important. You’re not going to give that up.

Well, what’s true for your family is true for the American family.  (Applause.)  It’s the same principle.  A budget that sacrifices our commitment to education would be a budget that’s sacrificing our country’s future.  That would be a budget that sacrifices our children’s future.  And I will not let it happen. (Applause.)

So, yes, I’m determined¹² to cut our deficits.  But I refuse to do it by telling students here who are so full of promise that we’re not willing to invest in your future.  I’m not willing to tell these young people right here that their education isn’t a priority.

I’m talking about students like Katherine Diaz, who says, “I think I should have the opportunity to be who I want to be.”  And it turns out that Katherine wants to either be a professional violinist, or the first woman President of the United States.  (Laughter and applause.)  So she’s still -- Katherine is still -- she’s not sure yet.  (Laughter.)  She might do both.  You could do it one at a time -- professional violinist, President.  (Laughter.)  

Or I’m talking about Roberto Claure.  Where’s Roberto?  There’s Roberto right here.  He says, “With good schools and good teachers, we can grow up to be anything we want.”  (Applause.)  It turns out Roberto wants to be the first Hispanic President of the United States.  (Laughter and applause.)  So you guys will have to work out sort of the sequence.  (Laughter.)

Roberto, Katherine, the millions of students like them across the country, they need us to offer them the best education possible -- not only because that’s how they’ll succeed, not only because that’s how we’ll out-compete countries around the world, but because that’s what we do.  That’s who we are.  That’s what America is about.

We are a place that believes every child, no matter where they come from, can grow up to be anything they want; where  Katherine, or Roberto, or a skinny kid with a funny name named Barack Obama -- (laughter) -- can grow up to be President of the United States.  That’s who we are.  That’s the commitment we make to the next generation.

And I’m confident that if we fix No Child Left Behind, if we continue to reform American education, continue to invest in our children’s future, that’s the America we will always be.

Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)