“Thought breeds thought; children familiar with great thoughts take as naturally to thinking for themselves as the well-nourished body takes to growing; and we must bear in mind that growth, physica...”

“The question is not, -- how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the ro...”

“...my object is to show that the chief function of the child--his business in the world during the first six or seven years of his life--is to find out all he can, about whatever comes under his no...”

“Let children alone... the education of habit is successful in so far as it enables the mother to let her children alone, not teasing them with perpetual commands and directions - a running fire of ...”

“None of us can be proof against the influences that proceed from the persons he associates with. Wherefore, in books and men, let us look out for the best society, that which yields a bracing and w...”

“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.”

“Education doesnt make you happy. Nor does freedom. We dont become happy just because were free if we are. Or because weve been educated if we have. But because education may be the means by which...”

“Because I trust in the ever-changing climate of the heart. (At least, today I feel that way.) I think it is necessary to have many experiences for the sake of feeling something; for the sake of bei...”

“The past has no power over the present moment.”

“A school should not be a preparation for life. A school should be life.”

“Break the teacher certification monopoly so anyone with something valuable to teach can teach it. Nothing is more important than this.”

“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.”

“Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.”

“We want our children to become who they are--- and a developed person is, above all, free. But freedom as we define it doesn't mean doing what you want. Freedom means the ability to make choices th...”

“Education is a system. Learning is an ongoing every day process.”