“School is like theater. Teachers are like directors, students are like actors, and classes are like theatrical presentations.”

“America may be the best country in the world, but that's kind of like being the valedictorian of summer school.”

“The purpose of school should not be to prepare students for more school. We should be seeking to have fully engaged students now.”

“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.”

“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.”

“A classroom atmosphere that promotes reading does not come from the furniture and its placement as much as it comes from the teacher's expectation that students will read.”

“Books are all the dreams we would most like to have and like dreams they have the power to change consciousness. ”