“Some teachers, the less effective ones, thought that fair meant distributing instruction equally to all students regardless of their needs. The exemplary teachers we studied, however thought fair meant working in ways that evened out differences between students”

“I daydream about a high school where everybody plays the harmonica: the students, the teachers, the principal, the janitor and the cook in the cafeteria.”

“Unexamined wallpaper is classroom practices and institutional policies that are so entrenched in school culture or a teacher's paradigm that their ability to affect student learning is never probed.”

“What all good teachers have in common, however, is that they set high standards for their students and do not settle for anything less.”

“Teachers often fail students by complimenting the successful students and ignoring those who do not prove as successful. Teachers need to embrace and praise all children.”

“Teachers knew every one of the students, their secrets, their grades, their home situations. And all the students knew the teachers. It was like teachers were people who finally were the most popular at school.”

“If you are a student, try to be a teacher; if you are a teacher, try to be a student!”