BURLINGAME – “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

That inspiring quote from South African leader Nelson Mandela is one of several used in a new, statewide CTA television and radio ad campaign launched today that underscores how neighborhood public schools create opportunities for students, for society, and to “make a better California for all of us.”

In this 16-day campaign in all major media markets, the TV and radio ads include diverse speakers reading three other education quotes:

—From the Greek philosopher Plato: “The direction in which education starts a person will determine their future in life.”

—Author Helen Keller: “The highest result of education is tolerance.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Education is the road to equality and citizenship.”

To contrast the progress and diversity of our schools, the TV spot uses older, historic images of California classrooms and students, and ends with modern-day schools. Watch the 30-second TV ad in English and Spanish, and listen to the 60-second radio ad in English and Spanish.

The radio ads include a narrator saying at one point: “For centuries, our greatest minds have reminded us that educators make a powerful difference for a lifetime.” To which California Teachers Association President Eric C. Heins responds in the ad that CTA is doing this campaign “because we are educators who know quality public schools build stronger local communities and make a better California for all of us.”

The print and digital ads in several languages reinforce the themes of the other ads.

The TV spots will air during numerous network news and cable programs, while the radio ads will air on 89 radio stations.

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The 325,000-member California Teachers Association is affiliated with the 3 million-member National Education Association.