The contrasts between what is spent today to educate a child in the poorest New York City neighborhoods where teacher salaries are often even lower than the city averages and spending levels in the wealthiest suburban areas are daunting challenges to any hope New Yorkers might retain that even semblances of fairness still prevail.

Acting is something I love. It's a great craft that I have a lot of respect for. But I don't think it's any greater challenge than teaching 8-year-olds or any other career. In my life I try not to make it more important than it is and I just hope that rubs off on the people around me.

Ah Hope! what would life be stripped of thy encouraging smiles that teach us to look behind the dark clouds of today for the golden beams that are to gild the morrow.

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

Oh stuff the critics. I don't care. Too many people are snooty about classical. Look I wasn't brought up in a home where we listened to classical music. It was a singing teacher that thought it would be best for my voice. Then I moved into crossover. And if that makes the music accessible to more people then great.

I remind everyone: Whether you school them at home or send them to school you as a parent have the responsibility to make sure they learn and behave. Teachers and principals may help but parents are the ones who must accept responsibility.

I'm like a really goofy home ec teacher.

Entertainers are there to entertain. They aren't there to teach your children the lessons that you haven't bothered to teach them at home yourself.

Most of the time I liked school and got good grades. In junior high though I hit a stumbling block with math - I used to come home and cry because of how frustrated I was! But after a few good teachers and a lot of perseverance I ended up loving math and even choosing it as a major when I got to college.

In high school a teacher once suggested that I be a math major in college. I thought 'Me? You've got to be joking!' I mean in junior high I used to come home and cry because I was so afraid of my math homework. Seriously I was terrified of math.