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Barack Obama

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:0.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
Barack Obama

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Auction Date:2010 Jan 13 @ 10:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
Typed manuscript with 14 words in Obama’s hand, 8.5 x 11, eight pages, dated Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 22, 2007. Entitled “Remarks for Senator Barack Obama, A New Profession: Teachers in the 21st Century,” with Obama labeling the top sheet, “Latest draft.” In fine condition, with punch holes to left edge, as well as some torn staple holes.

There are 14 words in Obama’s hand including two in red ink. They are capitalized in this description.

Headed: “Draft Remarks for Senator Barack Obama A New Profession: Teachers in the 21st Century May 22, 2007 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.” Noted by Obama in the upper right in red ink, “LATEST DRAFT.” In part, “It is an honor to be here at Temple University. Today, many of you are enrolled and on the path to be teachers. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to this honorable and often heroic profession … This morning the school bell rang in three different schools about an hours drive from here. In a small town called Quarryville, the students at Quarryville Elementary School are packed in classrooms with nearly thirty students to a room. We know that crowded classrooms are not the best learning environments for young minds…” Sen. Obama has noted next to this paragraph in pencil, “MORE DETAIL.”

“But the truth is that we are all bound together and when one suffers; we all suffer. And for too long, millions of American children have been asked to settle for schools that are less than they need and deserve because of where they live; the color of their skin, and how much their parents earn … Our success in the new global economy will depend, in large measure, on our ability to create the best-educated work force in the world … And today, a child in Philadelphia is not only competing for jobs with one in Boston, but thousands more in Bangalore. America is engaged in this competitive battle, but it is not using one of its greatest resources, the diversity of our nation. Right now only 9% of African American 8th graders are able to do math at the 8th grade level and only 14% of Latino 4th graders are reading at grade level. Only 9% of low-income students will graduate from college. We are not readying all of our kids for the competition. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized country. We are failing too many of our students. We’re sending them out into a 21st century economy by sending them through 20th 19TH? century schools. This new economic reality threatens our standing in the world. CIVIC: ACTIVE, INQUIRING CITIZENS. And that is why we need to move beyond our old battles and tired arguments, and join together to build on the good work that has already been done…

“To begin, we need to make ‘No Child Left Behind’ more than a slogan for the millions of children who have been left behind. This law is up for renewal and there is much to be frustrated with and angered by in how it has been implemented. It was wrong to withhold the funding that was necessary to do the job. It was wrong to identify schools as failing and then not provide them with more help to succeed. It was wrong to allow testing to become the centerpiece of too many schools and allow narrow-minded implementation of testing to drain the creativity and innovation out of too many classrooms. And it was wrong to not do more to involve parents in their child’s education.

“But the goals were the right ones and they remain unmet. It was right to make a national promise to educate every child. It was right to demand clear academic standards and accountability. And it was right to hold ourselves accountable for closing the achievement gap that dims the dreams of too many children and diminishes our national potential. The Administration made an empty promise and the problems are now clear…”


On the next three full pages, Sen. Obama details his education plan.

In part, “As President, I will launch a great transformation in education starting with the most important factors in a child’s K-12 education: the man or woman leading each classroom and the man or woman leading each school. To begin this work, as President, I will launch a new compact for teachers and principals. I will ask the nation to honor them and recognize them by investing billions of dollars in their profession … If we believe that teachers and principals have some of the most important jobs in the country; it is time to start paying them more … We will make teaching and education leadership a more respected and better supported profession.

“We need to create real career opportunities that rewards successful teachers, motivate them to stay in the profession and take advantage of their skills to help mentor new teachers. That is why schools in participating school systems will have on average two lead teachers who are selected for their exceptional performance and earn an additional $10,000 salary in exchange for spending half of their time teaching and the other half mentoring new teachers and others…” Next to this paragraph, Sen. Obama has penciled “GOOD.”

“We have to give teachers and principals the tools they deserve and the assessments they need to help discover what students know and what they still need to know to become not just proficient on tests, but the great inventors and problem solvers of tomorrow…

“We need tests and measurements that hold us all accountable for helping our kids meet high standards, but they must be designed so they are useful to improve student learning. That is why we will work with the nation’s governors and educators to create and use testing models that will provide teachers and students with timely feedback and measure readiness for college and success in an information-age workplace. This will benefit high-needs schools and strong schools…” Sen. Obama has penciled “CONTRAST TO NCLB” (No Child Left Behind) to the right of this paragraph.

“As President, I will ask educators to do three things to honor their part of this bargain. First, those communities in cities and rural areas must set high standards for what successful teachers and principals could do to earn higher pay and these standards must include some linkage to the measure that matters most – evidenced of student learning. If we are going to treat teaching as a profession in the 21st century, then we are going to have to reward performance just like other professions. Second, in exchange for increased pay we will ask these qualified schools and teachers to extend their school day or school year to provide extra support for those students who need the extra help. And third, in order to help millions of hardworking teachers educate our kids, districts must set clear expectations for them and provide fair and transparent procedures for what to do when those expectations are not met.” Sen. Obama has drawn a line grouping these three paragraphs and written the word “VAGUE.”
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