It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.

There are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world.

The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world.

Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.

The injunction to be nice is used to deflect criticism and stifle the legitimate anger of dissent.

If you think advantage lies in resources, then you think the best educational system is the one that spends the most money.

So long as the stereotype is used as a way of understanding how to fix the problem as opposed to demonizing a people or writing them off, then I think it's OK.