Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Jane Gardam

Quote by Jane Gardam

“Thank you," he said. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. If there is anyone here this afternoon whom I have convinced that books are meant to be enjoyed, that English is nothing to do with duty, that it has nothing to do with school - with exercises and homework and ticks and crosses - then I am a happy man." He turned away but then he turned back again and he suddenly simply shouted, he bellowed "To hell with school," he cried. "To hell with school. English is what matters. ENGLISH IS LIFE." The Head grabbed him and led him off to her sitting-room for tea, not looking too thrilled, and we were let out and I went flying home.”

Quote by Jane Gardam

Book:A Long Way from Verona
Create image

Work

A Long Way from Verona

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Jane Gardam
Jane Gardam

Jane Gardam is a British author renowned for her delicate prose and profound depictions of rural English life. Her works are often set in the northern regions of England and explore themes of family, history, and identity. more

You May Also Like

“A mental list (and countdown) of my most embarrassing moments: (5) That time when my third grade teacher announced that I was too smart for her class in front of my fellow third graders; (4) That phase I went through in junior high when I thought jumpers were cool; (3) That time when I burst into tears at my surprise party for no apparent reason; (2) That time when I decided to become more active in my school's extracurricular stuff and showed up dressed for a school dance a week early; (1) Just now;”

HumorSchoolListsEmbarrassment
Book:Castaways
Create image

“At this rate, I shall not pity the writers of history any longer. If people like to read their books, it is all very well; but to be at so much trouble in filling great volumes, which, as I used to think, nobody would willingly ever look into, to be laboring only for the torment of little boys and girls, always struck me as a hard fate; and though I know it is all very right and necessary, I have often wondered at the person's courage that could sit down on purpose to do it." "That little boys and girls should be tormented," said Henry, "is what no one at all acquainted with human nature in a civilized state can deny; but in behalf of our most distinguished historians, I must observe that they might well be offended at being supposed to have no higher aim; and that by their method and style they are perfectly well qualified to torment readers of the most advanced reason and mature time of life. I use the verb 'to torment,' as I observed to be your own method, instead of 'to instruct,' supposing them to be now admitted as synonymous.”

ChildrenHumorSchoolReadingEducationHistoryBooks
Book:Northanger abbey
Create image

“We have so little in common, but we were both avid readers growing up. I read almost nonstop when I was little, and it saved me in school. I hated classes, hated teachers. They always wanted me to do things I didn't want to do. But because I was a reader, they knew I wasn't stupid, just different. They cut me slack. It got me through. Reading couldn't help me make friends, though. I never got the hang of it. I would talk to kids, and over the years a handful of them even seemed to like me enough to ask to come over, but after that first visit to the house they never lasted. Ma told me what I did wrong but I could never manage to do it right. 'Act interested in what they say,' she said, but they never said anything interesting. 'Don't talk too much,' she said, but it never seemed like too much to me. So it wasn't like people threw tomatoes at me, or dipped my pigtails in inkwells, or stood up to move their desks away from mine, but I never really managed to make friends that I could keep. And I got used to it. I got used to a lot of things. Writing extra papers to make up for falling short in class participation. Volunteering to do the planning and the typing up whenever we had group work assigned, because I knew I could never really work right with a group. And the coping always worked. Up until three years into college, where despite Ma's repeated demands to try harder, I stalled. Every semester since, I was always still trying to finish that last Oral Communications class, which I had repeatedly failed. This semester I only made it six weeks in before it became obvious I wouldn't pass. I think we'd both finally given up.”

DifferentSchoolHard TimesLonerAspergers SyndromeGinny Selvaggio
Book:The Kitchen Daughter
Create image

“I kept myself to myself in the early years. I walked around and around the playground pretending to scale great mountain ranges or horizontal marshlands. In the summer months I sat beneath a sycamore tree on the edge of the school field. I collected insects in my hands only to release them at the end of playtime or lunch hour. Daddy asked me if I wanted an insect collecting set for my birthday or some jars to put them in to and take them home but I said I did not. I liked having them in my hands for that certain amount of time then letting them go off again into the undergrowth, back to their homes and to their lives. I would think about them living those lives while I sat back in my chair in the classroom and gazed blankly at times-tables.”

SchoolChildhoodIntrovertInsectsIntroversion
Book:Elmet
Create image

“Les billes, je les aime tant et j'en ai tant gagné que je pourrais m'en emplir la bouche et tout le cordon intestinal, n'être plus qu'un bonhomme de billes : j'en ai plusieurs trousses que je décharge le soir dans une boîte à chaussures. Quand ce n'est pas la saison du scoubidou et de la cocotte-surprise, et je me rejette dans la bataille. Je suis devenu le boss des billes, c'est moi qui ai lancé la bille à cent, une trouvaile : mes rivaux ne pratiquent que la bille à dix. Chaque matin j'emporte une trousse vide, une trousse à demi pleine, et dans mes poches quelques calots qui comptent pour dix. J'ai mon emplacement réservé, juste à droite de la porte qui mène du préau à la cour, tout contre le mur il y a dans le sool gris comme un minuscule coquetier qui semble taillé tout exprès pour que j'y mette ma bille, j'ai mon créneau, je le paye en billes, et j'ai mes employés qui surveillent les joueurs. Je calcule la distance qui doit être appropriée à un tel lot : elle doit rendre la bille pratiquement invisible. Les billes pleuvent, je vérifie que ma petite bille ne bouge pas, je la fixe pour l'en empêcher. Pendant ce temps-là mes employés ramassent les billes et en remplissent une de mes deux trousses ouvertes par terre, je les surveille à peine, je les paye trop bien. Personne ne gagne. Quand mes deux trousses et toutes mes poches sont pleines à craquer, et que les poches de mes employés sont aussi pas mal remplies, je retire ma bille adorée. Je fais toujours avant de disparaître une petite distribution gratuite, pour apaiser ceux qui se sont sauvagement dépossédés ans cette mise insensée, je les fais courir en envoyant les grappes de billes à pleines mains le plus loin possible. J'aime qu'après cela, on me regarde avec reconnaissance.”

SchoolChildhoodGameBilles
Book:My Parents
Create image

“Success in life is not for those who run fast, but for those who keep running and always on the move.”

InspirationalMotivationalSuccessInspirational QuotesMotivationWinningMotivational QuotesFocusAchievePositivePositive ThinkingInspireInspirational LifeWords Of WisdomSucceedAchievementInspirational AttitudeEntrepreneurInspiredSuccess QuotesFocusedGoalsInspirational QuoteEntrepreneurshipPositive AttitudeBelieve In YourselfPositive QuotesMotivatedSuccessful PeoplePositive ThoughtsMotivational QuoteWinPositive OutlookEntrepreneurship QuotesSuccessful LivingInspirational LivingGoal SettingEntrepreneurialPositive MindsetMotivateSuccess StrategiesWords To Live ByPositive Thinking QuotesGoals In LifePositive MotivationAchievementsWinning And LosingGoals QuotesEntrepreneur QuoteThe Great Pearl Of WisdomAchievement QuotesInspired SoulWinning AttitudeBelieve In Yourself QuotesWinnersAchieverBangambiki HabyarimanaInspired LifePositive ThoughtAchievement And AttitudeWinners MentalityInspired QuotesAchieversCreate Your RealityMotivational EnlightenmentInspired LivingYou Are PowerfulCreate Your LifeWinning MentalityAchieve Your DreamsSucceeding In LifeFocus On Your DreamsSuccess QuoteCreate Your FutureInspired MindWords To Inspire YouYou Are GreatYou Are The UniverseSucceedingGoals And PlansWinning In LifeFocusingWinners And LosersWords To PonderWords Of RevelationCreate Your WorldWords Of Wisdom InspirationalFocus On SuccessMotivate YourselfGoals And DreamsSucceededSucceedsWinning From WithinEntrepreneurship TrainingWinning The GameAll Is YoursWinning GoalYou Are A GodFocus On The Prize AheadLife EnergyMotivate MyselfFocus On Your LifeWinning From With InAchievements SuccessRunning QuotesYou Create Things By Your Mouth
Book:Pearls Of Eternity
Create image

“(prof.) Augustus était de nouveau sur moi ; tandis que sa bouche emplie de mots m’enserrait le cou avec sa puissance d’un lasso, ma voix parlait intérieurement. Dans l’air ambiant, ses mains ont pénétré les choses. J’étais seule, élue entre tous. J’avais accepté de relever le défi. Sérieux, dominant, Augustus a traversé l’estrade. Ses yeux, véritables planètes en orbite, ont décrit une révolution autour de moi. Il a lâché une question à laquelle aurait pu répondre avec flaccidité n’importe quelle taupe sortie du tunnel peu profond de lectures hégéliennes que nous explorions. Il a promené son regard sur des rares doigts levés, prêts à se risquer, comme s’il cherchait quelqu’un « en particulier ».”

SchoolEducationTeacherProfessor
Book:Las teorías salvajes
Create image