James Forman Jr. Quotes

It's hard work to ensure that all schools are safe and welcoming places for all children. It means changing policies, practices and cultures; providing school support personnel; and funding programs like restorative justice - not simply resorting to excessive and often discriminatory discipline.

We've got to look to our educational programs and focus on doing what we can to stem violence in the schools.

Successful state schools work because charismatic heads or teachers are terrific bluffers, giving the impression that they are to be feared while knowing in their hearts that they have no real power.

Young people can be disruptive and screw up classes. But even if they are being a pain in the arse it's a cry for help - they don't feel like they are being listened to.

I think it'd be useful for parents to know kind of what is the culture of an institution.

I want to get violence - I want schools to start from K through 12 to just every day have teachers understand that they don't want to talk about anything that is violent, and they want to explain to the children how bad violence is and how behavior - violent behavior, is something that they really should not practice and think about.

I think it's so important in preschool and in kindergarten and elementary school that we're not biasing ourselves.

My advice to young wrestlers is that your surroundings really make a difference. You want to put yourself in good, positive surroundings.

The teachers are trying to build the same culture in the classroom as we're building in the organization.

If school principals have given up on the important things and are focusing on discipline, they are creating a certain, diluted reality. In an organization that functions properly, discipline should be a marginal issue.

Teachers themselves know if there's a colleague who can't keep control or keep the interest of their class, it affects the whole school.

Most teachers prefer to teach highly motivated kids who live in safe communities.

There are essential elements for our public schools to fully develop the potential of both students and educators. They should be centers of community, where students, families and educators work together to support student success. They should foster collaboration.

Teachers alone can't educate young people.

What you get is what you see, which is suspending kids doesn't lead to high attrition rate. That is what the data shows.

Disrespect is bad for the atmosphere around a team.

We've long believed teachers know best what their students need to succeed, and that includes the creation of healthy, supportive school communities.

I have seen schools across the country working long and hard to embed a commitment to the unlimited development of every student into their cultures. The result, in terms of motivated learners and test scores, often is spectacular.

KIPP schools would be just a shining example of schools where students aren't just given homework and taught imaginative ways, but they're really brought into a culture of education.

Much of a leader's responsibility in creating a positive, high-performance culture is setting the right tone and acting on it consistently. That day-to-day execution - the tenor and tone - really makes the difference. One deviation - one exasperating meeting - and the CEO legitimizes bad behavior.

Let’s not forget that American democracy started with ‘We the People’ agreeing to work hard to create ‘a more perfect union.’ We’ve lost the idea that politics begins at home with what happens in families, in neighborhoods, in classrooms, in congregations. We called this democracy into being – and if we want to call this democracy back to its highest values, it’s got to be the us doing that calling. That’s not going to happen if ‘We the People’ don’t know how to talk to one another with civility and hold our differences in a creative, life-giving way.

Modeling is a great job to be in. You travel the world. You stay in one of the most fantastic places in the world. It is not always as glamorous as it looks, it's a lot of hard work, too, but it's a lot of fun at the same time.

We have a lot of work to do and I‘m afraid that it‘s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border.

To green our country, regular people will have to put on hard hats and work boots, roll up their sleeves - and get to work.

If I can't run my neighborhood you won't want me in your neighborhood.