Women - First lady: Teachers are leaders

ArcaMax Publishing > Lifestyles > Women

Your email address is safe with us. View our Privacy policy.

Wedding Guide:

Get advice on planning your big day with our wedding guide

Car Names Hangman:

Try our FREE ArcaMax Car Name Hangman Game

The Funnies:

Get free jokes, comics, and more! See them all on
our funnies page

Games:

Fun online games, quizzes, hangman and more on the games page

First lady: Teachers are leaders

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Vision, sense of purpose and the ability to inspire are qualities of great teachers and great leaders, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama says.

"As (President Barack Obama) has frequently said, in a 21st century global economy where jobs can be shipped to any place with an Internet connection, and children here in America will be competing with children around the world for the same jobs, a good education is no longer just one road to opportunity -- it is the only road," Obama wrote in a commentary posted Thursday on U.S. News and World Report's Web site.

Reports indicate, however, that as many as a third of America's 3.2 million teachers could retire during the next four years, Obama said. The Education Department has projected schools will hire as many as 1 million new teachers.

"Today, we need a new generation of leaders to take their place in our nation's schools," she said. "We need passionate, talented, committed men and women to step up and devote themselves to preparing our students to succeed in this new century."

But teachers are only part of the equation, she said. Parents must ensure homework gets done and limit television and video gaming. Colleges and universities must redouble their efforts to prepare teachers for the classroom. The federal government must support efforts to recruit and retain teachers, and to reward high-performing teachers.

Along those lines, the president has invested $3 billion to turn around struggling schools and proposed a nationwide teacher recruitment program, she said.

When thinking of qualities that make an outstanding teacher -- patience, vision, purpose, creativity, inspiration -- "we realize: these are also the qualities of a great leader," she said.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 10/15/2009

Share this Story