My contention is, all kids have tremendous talents. And we squander them, pretty ruthlessly.

Typically [professors] live in their heads. … They look upon their body as a form of transport for their heads. It’s a way of getting their head to meetings.

We need to eliminate the existing hierarchy of subjects. Elevating some disciplines over others only reinforces outmoded assumptions of industrialism and offends the principle of diversity. The arts, sciences, humanities, physical education, languages and maths all have equal and central contributions to make to a student's education.

There isn’t an education system on the planet that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. Why?

Research indicates that, as long as we keep using our brains in an active way, we continue to build neural pathways as we get older. This gives us not only the ongoing potential for creative thought, but also an additional incentive for continuing to stretch ourselves.

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you're not prepared to be original.

There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.