“My teachers treated me as a diamond in the rough, someone who needed smoothing.”

“Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.”

“Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?”

“But I think parents aren't teachers anymore. Parents -- or a whole lot of us, at least -- lead by mouth instead of by example. It seems to me that if a child's hero is their mother or father -- or even better, both of them in tandem -- then the rough road of learning and experience is going to be smoothed some. And every little bit of smoothing helps, in this rough old world that wants children to be miniature adults, devoid of charm and magic and the beauty of innocence.”

“Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves?”

“If I still need someone to calm my anger down,then I surely need a scapegoat who enrages me.”