38 Uplifting Obama Quotes For Teachers

Serving two terms as President of the United States of America, Barack Obama became the leading voice of American politics for many years. While in power, he made his views known on the importance of education in society and how laying a strong foundation can build a prosperous nation.

With our list of powerful quotes from the former President himself, you’ll get a front-row seat to his various speeches, interviews, and public statements where he emphasized the vital role that teaching, learning, and most importantly educators play in the building blocks of success.

1. “The best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education.” – Barack Obama

2. “In this economy, a high-quality education is a prerequisite for success.” – Barack Obama

3. “If you quit on school, you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.” – Barack Obama

4. “Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal.” – Barack Obama

5. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

6. “The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.” – Barack Obama

7. “A good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity—it is a prerequisite.” – Barack Obama

8. “There is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to opportunity than an education that can unlock a child’s God-given potential.” – Barack Obama

9. “A good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000.” – Barack Obama

10. “America’s future depends on its teachers.” – Barack Obama

11. “Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.” – Barack Obama

12. “If you are walking down the right path and you are willing to keep walking, eventually you will make progress.” – Barack Obama

13. “The countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow.” – Barack Obama

14. “Education is the civil rights issue of our time.” – Barack Obama

15. “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.” – Barack Obama

16. “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way.” – Barack Obama

17. “In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, education is the single best bet we can make.” – Barack Obama

18. “Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complainin’. Stop grumblin’. Stop cryin’. We are going to press on. We have work to do.” – Barack Obama

19. “The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.” – Barack Obama

20. “We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges.” – Barack Obama

21. “We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.” – Barack Obama

22. “What Washington needs is adult supervision.” – Barack Obama

23. “Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.” – Barack Obama

24. “We did not come here to fear the future. We came here to shape it.” – Barack Obama

25. “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something.” – Barack Obama

26. “Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.” – Barack Obama

27. “In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?” – Barack Obama

28. “The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama

29. “The role of citizen in a democracy does not end with your vote.” – Barack Obama

30. “The cynics may be the loudest voices – but I promise you, they will accomplish the least.” – Barack Obama

31. “The thing about hip-hop today is it’s smart, it’s insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable.” – Barack Obama

32. “The worst thing that colonialism did was to cloud our view of our past.” – Barack Obama

33. “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America.” – Barack Obama

34. “We may come from different places and have different stories, but we share common hopes, and one very American dream.” – Barack Obama

35. “We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don’t want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.” – Barack Obama