“An education which does not cultivate the will is an education that depraves the mind.”
Education is about more than classrooms and diplomas. These quotes challenge conventional thinking about learning, teaching, curiosity, and what it actually means to be educated — which, as several of these thinkers point out, has little to do with memorization.
“Poor people, people of color - especially are much more likely to be found in prison than in institutions of higher education.”
“An education which does not cultivate the will is an education that depraves the mind.”
“Nature has always had more force than education.”
“Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.”
“Education begins at home and I applaud the parents who recognize that they - not someone else - must take responsibility to assure that their children are well educated.”
“You know, in 1975 I couldn't get a job in New York City because I was American. The kitchens were predominantly run by French, Swiss, German, and basically I got laughed at. I had education, I had experience, but got laughed at because I was American.”
“I was blessed to have a mother and father that recognized the value of education.”
“The government has convinced parents that at some point it's no longer their responsibility. And in fact, they force them, in many respects, to turn their children over to the public education system and wrest control from them and block them out of participation of that. That has to change or education will not improve in this country.”
“Of all the public services, education is the one I'm most interested in. You get a more dynamic economy, you deal with most social problems, and it's morally right.”
“To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worth while. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter.”
“I never got a formal education. So my intellect is my common sense. I don't have anything else going for me. And my common sense opens the door to instinct.”
“Economic prosperity and quality education for our children are inexorably linked.”
“If education does not create a need for the best in life, then we are stuck in an undemocratic, rigid caste society.”
“We do recognise the need to move towards the publication of information showing the progress made by pupils from one stage of their education to another.”
“My hope was that organizations would start including this range of skills in their training programs - in other words, offer an adult education in social and emotional intelligence.”
“Today there are people trying to take away rights that our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers fought for: our right to vote, our right to choose, affordable quality education, equal pay, access to health care. We the people can't let that happen.”