Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do best.

People have to live by rules in the world. Why do we pretend in school that they don't?

Praise is essential in developing the right attitude toward learning and toward school.

Determination and perseverance move the world; thinking that others will do it for you is a sure way to fail.

Until kids decide, 'I am a miracle. I am unique. There is no one else exactly like me,' they can never draw the conclusion, 'Because I'm a miracle, I will never harm another person who's a miracle like me.' In this slippery world, they all need something to hang on to.

I believe the more difficult a child is, the more I want that child. But I won't take a child until the parent brings him to us. So it is just the opposite - we get the ones that no one else will take. We get sawdust, and we have to make boards out of it.

Parents often brag about the amount of money spent per child, but I think, perhaps ironically, those great monies that are spent - I call it putting a band-aid on a hemorrhage.