Hi, everybody.This week, I spent some time traveling across Iowa talking with folks about rebuilding an economy where if you work hard, you and your family can get ahead.
嗨，大家好。在这个星期，我花时间走访了爱荷华州，与大家谈论的是重建一种只要你努力工作，你和你的家庭就一定能取得成功的经济体制。
And along the way, I stopped in at Cascade High School to thank the teachers there for doing such a great job—and wish them luck as they head back to the classroom for this school year.
而在旅途的过程中，我在卡斯卡德高中停下脚步，感谢那些从事着伟大工作的教师们，并祝愿他们在这一学年能重返教室。
There's nothing more important to our country's future than the education we give our kids. And there's no one more important to that education than the person at the front of the classroom.
对我们国家的未来而言，没有什么比为孩子们提供良好的教育更重要。而且在教育上也没有任何人能比站在讲台前的那个人更重要。
Teachers matter. Most work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies—just to make a difference.
教师们至关重要。他们大多不知疲倦的工作、工资却一般般，有时候还不得不自掏腰包购买教学用品—他们这样做为的只是带来改变。
They give everything for our kids—and in return, we should invest in them.
他们为我们的孩子们付出了所有，而反过来，我们也应该对他们进行投入。
But here's the thing: this year, several thousand fewer educators will be going back to school.
但摆在我们面前的事实却是：今年仅有数千名教育工作者将重返校园。
Since 2009, we've lost more than 300,000 education jobs, in part, because of budget cuts at the state and local level.
自2009年以来，我们总共失去了30多万个教育工作岗位，其部分原因就是全国和地方的预算削减。
Think about what that means for our country.
大家可以想想这对我们国家意味着什么。
At a time when the rest of the world is racing to out-educate America; these cuts force our kids into crowded classrooms, cancel programs for preschoolers and kindergarteners, and shorten the school week and the school year.
追忆往昔，世界曾对我们一流的教育望尘莫及，而预算削减却迫使我们的孩子们的教室更加拥挤，学前教师和幼儿教师项目被取消，每周学习时间和学年时间被缩短。
That's the opposite of what we should be doing as a country.
这不是我们作为一个国家应当的所作所为。
States should be making education a priority in their budgets, even in tough fiscal times.
即便是在紧张的财政时期，各州也应该把教育放在预算的头等重要位置。
And Congress should be willing to help out—because this affects all of us.
而国会更应该慷慨解囊，因为这关乎到我们所有人。
That's why part of the jobs bill that I sent to Congress last September included support for states to prevent further layoffs and to rehire teachers who'd lost their jobs.
正因为此，去年9月我提交国会的一份就业法案中包括为各州提供避免教师进一步失业并重新招募已经失业的教师的支持。
But here we are—a year later with tens of thousands more educators laid off—and Congress still hasn't done anything about it.
但现在的境况却是，一年以后成千上万的教师面临失业的窘境，而国会依然无动于衷。
In fact, the economic plan that almost every Republican in Congress voted for would make the situation even worse.
实际上，国会的每一个共和党人所支持的经济计划只会使目前的境况雪上加霜。
It would actually cut funding for education—which means fewer kids in Head Start, fewer teachers in our classrooms, and fewer college students with access to financial aid—all to pay for a massive new tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.
这一项目在实质上将进一步削减教育基金，这将意味着受益于《领先计划》的孩子们会更少，学校的教师们会更少，能获得经济援助的大学生们会更少。而所有这些都只是为了给百万和亿万富豪们新的大量减税政策埋单。
That's backwards. That's wrong.
这是倒退，这是不正确的。
That plan doesn't invest in our future; it undercuts our future.
这一计划不是在为我们的未来投资，而是在削弱我们的未来。
If we want America to lead in the 21st century, nothing is more important than giving everyone the best education possible—from the day they start preschool to the day they start their career.
如果我们希望美国能在21世纪引领全球，没有什么比给与每个人最好的受教育的机会更加重要，从他们学前教育的那一天开始直到步入职场那一天为止。
That's why we launched a national competition to improve our schools.
这就是为什么我们实施一项全国性竞争计划以改善学校教学环境的原因。
And for less than one percent of what our nation spends on education each year, we've encouraged almost every state to raise their standards—the first time that's happened in a generation.
由于每年教育支出仅占全国支出不到1%，所以们已经鼓励几乎每个州都提高了标准，在这一代人里还是头一遭。
That's why we've invested in math and science education, and given states more flexibility on No Child Left Behind.
这就是为什么我们在数学和科学教育上加大投入，让各州在《不让一个孩子掉队》项目实施上有更具灵活性的原因。
And that's why we've reformed the student loan program to put students before big banks, and increased financial aid for millions of young people—because in America, higher education cannot be a luxury;it's an economic necessity every family should be able to afford.
这就是为什么我们对助学贷款计划进行改革的原因，让各大银行为学生们提供贷款，增加对数百万年轻学子的资金援助，因为在美国，高等教育不应该是奢侈品，而应该是每个家庭都能负担得起的必需品。
This is a country where no matter what you look like or where you come from, if you're willing to study and work hard, you can go as far as your talents will take you.
我们的国家是无论你长相如何，无论你来自何方，只要你努力学习和工作，你就可以依靠自己的天分达到应有的高度的国家。
You can make it if you try.
只要你努力，你就能获得成功。
I am only the President of the United States today because of the chance my education gave me.
我能成为美国历史上唯一这样的一位总统，就是要归功于这个国家提供给我的受教育机会。
I want every child in America to have that chance.
我希望在美国的每个孩子都有这样的机会。
That's what I'm fighting for.
这也是我为之努力不懈的目标。
And as long as I have the privilege of being your President, that's what I'm going to keep fighting for.
只要我还有幸担任你们的总统，我就将继续为之奋斗不止。
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
谢谢大家，并祝你们周末愉快！
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