CORTLAND -- President Barack Obama's State of the Union address has special meaning for SUNY Cortland, as the President calls for more teachers in the nation's classrooms.
It was one of the more dramatic points in the State of the Union address when the President laid down a challenge to the nation's young people. "If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation... become a teacher. Your country needs you." he said as both Republicans and Democrats gave him a standing ovation.
President Obama connected the need to improve the nation's educational system to the resurgence in the economy. To that end, he wants 100,000 more science and technology teachers in the classroom by the end of the decade.
Many of the new teachers will come through SUNY Cortland. It's the 13th largest university for teachers in the nation. Assistant Provost Marley Barduhn points out there are 3,500 students enrolled in 48 separate teacher education programs here.
"I don't believe that there's ever been a time when having a great teacher mattered more. All the data and research points to the fact that it's really the teacher in the classroom that makes a difference for children on a day to day basis." she told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon.
The President's call for young people to become teachers comes at a time when school districts are facing huge deficits and are actually laying off teachers. But Barduhn says good teachers are in demand.
"Schools are looking at having high quality effective teacher in the classroom and that's what children deserve. So this is the time for our students, the brightest and the best to go into teaching."
To attract more people into the teaching profession, the President wants to extend a $10,000 tax credit for four years of higher education.
