Children allowed to take responsibility and given a serious part in the larger world are always superior to those merely permitted to play and be passive.

In our secular society, school has become the replacement for church, and like church it requires that its teachings must be taken on faith.

The truth is that schools don't really teach anything except how to obey orders.

I taught public school for 26 years, but I just can't do it anymore. For years I asked the school board to let me teach a curriculum that doesn't hurt kids, but they always had other fish to fry. If you hear of a job where I don't have to hurt kids to make a living, let me know. The truth is that schools don't really teach anything, but blind obedience.

Genius is an exceedingly common human quality, probably natural to most of us.

• As society rapidly changes, individuals will have to be able to function comfortably in a world that is always in flux. Knowledge will continue to increase at a dizzying rate. This means that a content-based curriculum, with a set body of information to be imparted to students, is entirely inappropriate as a means of preparing children for their adult roles.

What's gotten in the way of education in the United States is a theory of social engineering that says there is ONE RIGHT WAY to proceed with growing up.