Rafe Esquith > Quotes

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness'

I realized then where the problem lay. My students, and so many of our young people today, want a good life. They love (even if they don't always appreciate) liberty. They all want to be happy. But I realized that day that my class was a microcosm of what is wrong with some any of nation's young people.

What happened to pursuit? We aren't handed happiness. We're given an opportunity to pursue it.”
― Rafe Esquith, There Are No Shortcuts

“...when teaching or parenting, you must always try to see things from the child's point of view and never use fear as a shortcut for education.”
― Rafe Esquith

“Those who celebrate failure will not be around to help today's students celebrate their jobs flipping burgers.”
― Rafe Esquith, There Are No Shortcuts

“We teachers are all boxers. We get hit a lot. I've been knocked down so many times I'm often woozy.
But I've learned something in...the classroom: all teachers, even the best ones, get knocked down. The difference between the best ones and the others is that the best ones always get up to answer the bell.
May you always get up. It is a child ringing the bell, and he needs your help.”
― Rafe Esquith, There Are No Shortcuts

“With such a complicated and crucial part of a child's education in jeopardy, there are many forces at work -- a sort of conspiracy of mediocrity that denies children the chance to develop a love of reading and become good readers. It is a pattern that involves our system, parents, teachers, and sometimes even librarians.”
― Rafe Esquith, There Are No Shortcuts

“It often seems that we live in a bottom line society, where the final score or final grade is all that matters. Exceptional children grow to understand that the journey is everything.”
― Rafe Esquith, Lighting Their Fires: Raising Extraordinary Children in a Mixed-up, Muddled-up, Shook-up World