John Adams Quotes

Teach For America was built on the idea that our best hope of reaching 'One Day' is to have thousands of alumni use their diverse experiences and ideas to effect change from inside and outside the education system.

A memorable change must be made in the system of education and knowledge must become so general as to raise the lower ranks of society nearer the to the higher.

The only way to beat poverty in America is to completely transform American public education

What I see is democratizing education will change everything.

Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in. That every man may receive at least a moderate education...appears to be an object of vital importance...

Public education is a great instrument of social change. Through it, if we so desire, we can make our country more nearly a democracy without classes. To do so will require the efforts of us all-teachers, administrators, taxpayers and statesmen. Education is a social process, perhaps the most important process in determining the future of our country; it should command a far larger portion of our national income than it does today.

We must change the system of education and instruction. Unfortunately, history has shown us that brotherhood must be learned, when it should be natural.

But before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of Education and knowledge must become so general as to raise the lower ranks of Society nearer to the higher. The Education of a Nation, instead of being confined to a few schools & Universities, for the instruction of the few, must become the National Care and expence, for the information of the Many.

We've invested in Newark's children, the schools and teachers, and these are long-term bets that need a number of years to really pan out. We've seen and learned how important it is to listen to the community and really get a sense of what they need and want. And it's a long journey.

I'd repair our education system or replace it with something that works.

You cannot simply put more money into the same system and get better results, so we will need to reform and innovate in the delivery of education.

I spent ridiculous amounts of time as an activist and volunteer and was a teacher for 20 years.

We can pay teachers a hundred thousand dollars a year, and we'll do nothing to improve our schools as long as we keep the A, B, C, D, F grading system.

It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn.

Inner city education must change. Our responsibility is not merely to provide access to knowledge; we must produce educated people.

Centuries have elapsed since schools were first established.... Because learning was viewed as the exclusive province of the samurai and his superiors, farmers, artisans, merchants and women have neglected it altogether.... There shall, in the future, be no community with an illiterate family, nor a family with an illiterate person .... Hereafter ... every man shall, of his own accord, subordinate all other matters to the education of his children.

Education will never be raised to a level adequate to the demands of the present form of civilization--it is woefully inadequate now--till international ethical action raises it.

You know there's a problem [with the education system] when you realize that out of the three R’s, only one begins with an R.

I see education in the U.K. as a civil rights struggle.

When you have teachers saying, 'I don't have enough time for hands-on activities,' we need to rethink the way we do education.

I've worked in public education for 30 years - as a teacher, a lawyer and union leader. I've visited hundreds of schools and districts. I've seen leaders from the classroom to the national stage who have been willing to set aside their differences and do the hard work that's necessary to create real, enduring change.

The innovation and creativity that's so manifest in the rest of society needs to be turned on our school systems.

Our only political stance is this: listen to these teachers.

Our students are not broken. Our teachers are not broken. It's our system that has been broken.

We talk nonstop about what needs to be changed, and everyone has excuses for why the changes can't happen. I believe we must change our educational system first to get the changes moving forward. I'm happy to be a voice and get in front of an audience who can help by making education a priority.