What I think it really means is: I'm a teacher. I am a teacher. I teach all the time, as you do and as all of you do-whether we know it or not, whether we take responsibility for it or not. I hold nothing back because I want to see that light go off. I like to see the children say, 'I never thought of that before.' And I think, 'I've got them!'

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right.

We must be warriors in the struggle against ignorance

Loving someone liberates the lover as well as the beloved. And that kind of love comes with age.

I wish that we could look into each other's faces, in each other's eyes, and see our own selves. I hope that the children have not been so scarred by their upbringing that they only think fear when they see someone else who looks separate from them.

We do the best we can with what we know, and when we know better, we do better.

I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too.