Educational Inequity Quotes

“I had always insisted that a good education was a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, that each enriched the other. I wanted my students to know that the accumulation of knowledge, while fascinating in itself, is not sufficient as long as so many people in the world have no opportunity to experience that fascination.”
― Howard Zinn, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times

“Right now I'm thinking a good deal about emancipation. One of our sins was slavery, another was emancipation. It's a paradox. In theory, emancipation was one of the glories of our democracy - and it was. But the way it was done led to tragedy, turning four million people loose with no jobs or trades or learning. And then in 1877 for a few electoral votes, just abandoning them entirely. A huge amount of pain and trouble resulted. Everybody in America is still paying for it.”
― Shelby Foote

“We aren’t encouraged to think for ourselves and ask questions. We are expected to accept what they teach us as infallible truths.”
― Raquel Cepeda, Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina

“Children get dealt grossly unequal hands, but that is all the more reason to treat them equally in school, Chris thought. "I think the cruelest form of prejudice is... if I ever said, 'Clarence is poor, so I'll expect less of him than Alice.' Maybe he won't do what Alice does. But I want his best." She knew that precept wasn't as simple as it sounded. Treating children equally often means treating them very differently. But it also means bringing the same moral force to bear on all of them, saying, in effect, to Clarence that you matter as much as Alice and won't get away with not working, and to Alice that you won't be allowed to stay where you are either.”
― Tracy Kidder, Among Schoolchildren

“Education should not be a competition resulting in winners and losers. Education should be a competition against ignorance, and all should be encouraged to win.”
― K.A. Brill

“You can be an expert any field of study with consistent effort and consistent learning.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“The Grand Mistake in Education - To think that what's right for you is right for everyone. IT AIN'T. The Fly in this Ointment!http://youtu.be/6HpXUaQGY8I via @youtube”
― Alan Share, Death of a Nightingale

“There is no achievement gap at birth.”
― Lisa Delpit, "Multiplication Is for White People": Raising Expectations for Other People's Children