Julian Castro Quotes

My priorities are making sure we reduce class size and close the achievement gap.

If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher test scores. And yet we somehow refuse to accept this reality.

We need better public education and more realistic education.

I am very proud of the quality of public education in Nebraska, but I believe we have an obligation to continually assess whether our system is meeting 21st Century education needs.

Education reform has as its main purpose to make sure that the education delivered is of quality.

If American schooling is inadequate now, just imagine how much more obsolete it will be when today's kindergarten students graduate from high school in just 12 years.

We have to build a better education in this country. We need to step it up.

I think our voters have made it clear. Unless someone can demonstrate to me that having larger class sizes is better than having smaller class sizes, I'm not going to support it.

Why Not the Best?

If you want to reform schools, don't do it with testing. We used to say, "If you want elephants to grow, you don't weigh the elephants. You feed the elephants." Children will not grow unless they get quality instruction.

It's hard to improve public education - that's clear.

Our ultimate goal with Real Models is to open a school and I would love to do it here in Miami, open up a charter school.

The only solution to the education system is to find yourself.

No Child Left Behind's fourth-grade gains aren't learning gains, they're testing gains. That's why they don't last. The law is a distraction from things that really count.

Hillary Clinton wants to leave behind No Child Left Behind.

I think we're doing a dreadful job of educating.

I'd repair our education system or replace it with something that works.

As Governor of North Carolina for two terms, I made improving education a top priority.

The most important problem that Turkey has is education.

I don't think of myself as a policy expert. I think education is the most important thing.

When I was mayor of New York, my views changed. I began as mayor of New York City thinking that I could reform the New York City school system. After two or three years, four years, I became an advocate of choice, of scholarships, and vouchers, and parental choice, because I thought that was the only way to really change the school system.

For any reporter, education is a topic where everything else - money, politics, et cetera - intersects. I have four kids in K through 12, so I'm knee-deep in it. I'm really interested in the philosophy behind it all. Should you just memorize your multiplication tables, or should you understand the concept behind them?

I do think that a school day that matches the work day makes a lot of difference for working families, but the big driver of this effort is education. Period. We have a lot of students not gaining the skills they need, and it is pretty clear that school does not offer enough time to get that job done.

I'm clear that we do need to improve what's happening in our schools.

At the federal level, we must help, not hinder, local school boards, parents, teachers and administrators as they make decisions about educating our children.