The answers I remember longest are the ones that answer questions that I didn't think of asking.

Young children give us glimpses of some things that are eternal.

I beg people not to accept the seasonal ritual of well-timed charity on Christmas Eve. It's blasphemy.

The contrasts between what is spent today to educate a child in the poorest New York City neighborhoods, where teacher salaries are often even lower than the city averages, and spending levels in the wealthiest suburban areas are daunting challenges to any hope New Yorkers might retain that even semblances of fairness still prevail.

I encourage teachers to speak in their own voices. Don't use the gibberish of the standards writers.

I always want to tell these young idealists that the world is not as dangerous as many in the older generation want them to believe...The [people] for whom I feel the greatest sadness are the ones who choke on their beliefs, who never act on their ideals, who never know the state of struggle in a decent cause, and never know the thrill of even partial victories.

Racial segregation has come back to public education with a vengeance.