We’re celebrating World Teachers’ Day today in honor of the progress made for teachers at the UNESCO conference on October 5, 1966. The day is dedicated to empowering teachers and assessing world education goals. On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is likely celebrating today in light of her recent endorsement from the National Education Association, the country’s largest labor union.
RELATED: Hillary Clinton earns backing of nation’s largest union
Here’s a look at what Clinton and other presidential candidates have said about education:
1. “We have to face the fact that we have a lot of people who come out of school burdened with student loans and decide they can’t go into teaching, so we lose a lot of good young people.” —Hillary Clinton, at the New York State United Teachers convention in April 2007
2. “Think back to a darker time in our history. Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on, it was illegal to educate a slave, particularly to teach them to read. Why do you think that was? Because when you educate a man, you liberate a man.” —Dr. Ben Carson, in his book “One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future“
3. “And we’ve got to bring on the competition — open the schoolhouse doors and let parents choose the best school for their children. Education reformers call this school choice, charter schools, vouchers, even opportunity scholarships. I call it competition — the American way.” —Donald Trump, in his book “The America We Deserve”
4. “If education is to be the great equalizer which everybody talks about, that means that every child must have access to a great school and to great teachers.” – Jeb Bush, at the Manhattan Institute’s Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, New York City, in May 2014
5.“Parents should be the ultimate decision makers on where their children go to school. But poor and working class parents often have no choice about what schools their children can attend. All our parents should be able to send their children to the school of their choice.” —Marco Rubio, at the Jack Kemp Foundation’s Leadership Award Dinner in December 2012
6. “We need to reform an agrarian education system where everyone was stuffed into a classroom which denied creativity and flexibility, and we need to transform that education system into the 21st Century where we could excite kids and challenge kids and show them their future.” —John Kasich, at his second inaugural address in Columbus, Ohio, in January 2015
7. “All of us can remember the great teachers that got us to where we are today. Everybody says they’re for great teachers, but to be honest, look at how we hire, fire, pay and promote our teachers today.” —Bobby Jindal, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, in March 2014
8. “And yet, right now, today, over 1 million children are on waiting lists for charter schools all over this country. We shouldn’t put our future on a waiting list.” —Ted Cruz, at the School Choice Week rally in Washington, D.C., in January 2015
9. “For far too long, our society has under-valued the need for high-quality and widely accessible early-childhood education.” —Bernie Sanders, during testimony at the Vermont Statehouse before the Vermont House and Senate education committees in February 2014
10. “The education crisis has deepened since 1989 across every dimension, but still, as a nation, we have not yet harnessed the collective will or sense of urgency to address it. Our competitiveness as a nation requires us to understand the bigger world, and prepare our children’s hearts and minds to lead.” —Carly Fiorina, in her book “Tough Choices”
11. “To make the dream true again, we must invest in universal Pre-K to help all of our children reach their God-given potential.” – Martin O’Malley, at the South Carolina Democrat Party’s John Spratt Issues Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in February 2015
Quinn McNeill