Ben Bernanke

As a community college professor for over twenty years, I’ve seen the determination, resilience and dedication of countless students. Regardless of circumstances, they show up. They work hard. They believe anything is possible.

Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot educate today’s youth, what will we do in 1970 when elementary enrollment will be 5 million greater than 1960? And high school enrollment will rise by 5 million. College enrollment will increase by more than 3 million.

Studying in countries like China isn’t only about your prospects in the global marketplace. It’s not just about whether you can compete with your peers in other countries to make America stronger. It’s also about whether you can come together and work together with them to make our world stronger. It’s about the friendships you make, the bonds of trust you establish and the image of America that you project to the rest of the world.

Instead of going to Paris to attend lectures, go to the public library, and you won’t come out for twenty years, if you really wish to learn.

As precious as knowledge itself is the learning. As precious as any reward is the earning.

An average English word is four letters and a half. By hard, honest labor I’ve dug all the large words out of my vocabulary and shaved it down till the average is three and a half… I never write metropolis for seven cents, because I can get the same money for city. I never write policeman, because I can get the same price for cop…. I never write valetudinarian at all, for not even hunger and wretchedness can humble me to the point where I will do a word like that for seven cents; I wouldn’t do it for fifteen.

The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

By making college unaffordable and student loans unbearable, we risk deterring our best and brightest from pursuing higher education and securing a good paying job.

Learn something new every day.

What I’m learning is that there is so much to unlearn.

Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned.

Because of the flexibility that community colleges afford, many students do not have to choose between an education and fulfilling other responsibilities – they can do both.

Education helps one case cease being intimidated by strange situations.

A man’s college and university degrees mean nothing to me until I see what he is able to do with them.

I’ve seen with my own students, community colleges offer an affordable route to four-year college degrees and good paying jobs.