Learning a foreign language and the culture that goes with it is one of the most useful things we can do to broaden the empathy and imaginative sympathy and cultural outlook of children.

I saw as a teacher how if you take that spark of learning that those children have and you ignite it you can take a child from any background to a lifetime of creativity and accomplishment.

Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library the doors to learning are always open.

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.

Real leadership means tackling tough problems ourselves and not leaving them to our children.

The truth is the Republican leadership has created a credit card Congress that is recklessly selling out the future of America our children and our grandchildren and President Bush is the most fiscally irresponsible President in the history of America.

In working with UNICEF our corporate partners have demonstrated time and again that their financial resources leadership and expertise can bring about real and lasting benefits for the world's children.

From a parent's right to know what their children are doing to protecting citizens across the country from the growing threat of gang violence the House Democrat leadership is simply out to lunch.

Labor under their current leadership want to be the Downtown Abbey party when it comes to educational opportunity. They think working class children should stick to the station in life they were born into - they should be happy to be recognized for being good with their hands and not presume to get above themselves.

I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership but raising children isn't. Hey it made me a better leader: you have to take a lot of people's needs into account you have to look down the road. Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy.