"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama announced a $250 million initiative Wednesday to train math and science teachers and help meet his goal of pushing America's students from the middle to the top of the pack in those subjects in the next decade.
Obama also gave awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring to more than 100 educators — and joked about putting them to work.
'I believe so strongly in the work that you do,' Obama said at a ceremony in the White House East Room. 'And as I mentioned to some of you, because I've got two girls upstairs with math tests coming up, I figure that a little extra help from the best of the best couldn't hurt."
"So you're going to have assignments after this," he said. The audience laughed. "These awards were not free," he added.
Obama said teacher quality is the most important single factor that influences whether students succeed or fail in the "STEM" fields of science, technology, engineering and math. But, he said, U.S. students trail their peers around the world.
He said a substantial shortage of teachers in these subject areas will deepen unless steps are taken to reverse the trend, and that doing so requires outside help because the federal government cannot do it alone.
'I believe so strongly in the work that you do,' Obama said at a ceremony in the White House East Room. 'And as I mentioned to some of you, because I've got two girls upstairs with math tests coming up, I figure that a little extra help from the best of the best couldn't hurt."