Twelve million students take the PARCC or Smarter Balanced. Now, if 5 percent opt out, that creates - that triggers some restrictions, and 5 percent of 12 million is only 600,000.

You have to remember, we may be the only nation, the only one I know of, that uses test scores not to assess kids, but to assess teachers. I think we're unique in doing that.

There's a lot of feeling that the school curriculum has been bare-bones, just drill and, again, no art, music, and so on and so forth.

They did not know it was impossible, so they did it. Mark Twain

I want to work on respecting individuals' dignity. Equal rights, that's where my heart is. That means equal rights and benefits, and that's what we need.

Ideals are like the stars: we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them.

Out of water, I am nothing.

A lot of kids bought guitars and started playing rock'n'roll because of us.

All thoughts start from emotions.

When you tell your truth, you are coming from a real place, so you are automatically a leader.

So long as large sums of money are involved - and they are bound to be if drugs are illegal - it is literally impossible to stop the traffic, or even to make a serious reduction in its scope.

My mother was the most amazing person. She taught me to be kind to other women. She believed in family. She was with my father from the first day they met. All that I am, she taught me.

Meditation on the chance which led to the meeting of my mother and father is even more salutary than meditation on death.