The play of conflicting interests in a framework of shared purposes is the drama of a free society. It is a robust exercise, and often a noisy one. It is not for the faint-hearted, or the tidy-minded.

The cynic says, "One man can't do anything". I say, "Only one man can do anything."

It is not easy to be crafty and winsome at the same time, and few accomplish it after the age of six.

Life is an endless process of self-discovery.

The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else.

Some people strengthen the society just by being the kind of people they are.

I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder that we could have tolerated anything so primitive.