I Encourage Teachers To Speak

Well, Teachers Have Been Profoundly Demoralized In Recent Years And Are Often Treated With Contempt By Politicians. There's A Great Deal Of Reckless Rhetoric In Washington About The Mediocrity Of The Teaching Profession - And I Don't Find That To Be True At All.

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.

Instead Of Seeing These Children For The Blessings That They Are, We Are Measuring Them Only By The Standard Of Whether They Will Be Future Deficits Or Assets For Our Nation's Competitive Needs.

Competitive Skills Are Desperately Needed By Poor Children In America, And Realistic Recognition Of The Economic Roles That They May Someday Have An Opportunity To Fill Is Obviously Important, Too. But There Is More To Life, And There Ought To Be Much More To Childhood, Than Readiness For Economic Functions.