“We are not optimists because we can predict a bright and beautiful future, but we're not pessimists either, because the future is unknown and unknowable. We are, rather, active participants in possibility, willing workers in the fields of what could be, but is not yet. We are compelled by love- love of children and youth, love of a world in need of repair- and powered by hope. ”

“Even though we long for community-for places of common vision, shared purpose, cooperative effort, and personal fulfillment within collective commitment-we most often settle for institutions. That is, we generally find ourselves in impersonal places characterized by interchangeable parts, hierarchy, competition, and layers of supervision.”

“You know more about your child than I can ever hope to know, what advice can you give me to make a better teacher for her?”

“If you choose to live only in the world as you find it, you surrender too much.”

“We help other people because we can, or because it makes us feel good, not because we're counting on some future payback. There is a word for this; love.”

“We could love and not be suckers. We could dream and not be losers. It was such a beautiful time. Everything was possible because we didn't know anything yet.”

“The good thing about being a pessimist is that I'm either always right, or pleasantly surprised.”