Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Nicholas Lemann

Quote by Nicholas Lemann

“In journalism, especially, we tend to deal with large, complex systems by finding especially interesting people and story lines to focus on.”

Quote by Nicholas Lemann

Create image

Author

Nicholas Lemann
Nicholas Lemann

Nicholas Lemann is an American writer known for his profound insights into educational, media, and social issues. His work often delves into educational reform and the changes in the news industry. more

You May Also Like

“I think serious research tends to be associated with higher academic quality, more prestige, more resources, and even, heaven help us, better teaching, to a greater extent than you might think. Folks who don't have an active intellectual life become, though the long years of just teaching, less intellectually alive and exciting.”

ThinkingYearsLongHelpingMightHeavenQualityGreaterAliveTeachingSeriousHigherIntellectualResearchResourcesExcitingFolksActiveAcademicPrestigeIntellectual Life
Author:Nicholas Lemann
Create image

“I am always suspicious of the formulation that "politics" has prevented a great idea from being enacted by government. Politics IS government, in a democratic society. It's a challenge for school reformers, like reformers in any realm, to build a popular constituency for their work. If the people it's supposed to benefit vote against it, that tells me that the person pushing reform lacks political skill. And political skill is a good thing.”

PeopleIfsPersonsIdeasGovernmentSchoolPoliticalChallengesSkillsBenefitsVoteGood ThingsDemocraticReformRealmsPushingSuspiciousGreat IdeaDemocratic SocietyReformersGovernment Politics
Author:Nicholas Lemann
Create image

“I am not against standardized tests. There are tests and tests and tests, and, to simplify, the ones I favor are criterion-referenced tests of skills, aligned with the curriculum. Social and emotional skills are important but skills are too. I find it heartbreaking that this is so often seen as an either-or choice. To get to the richness of studying literature, for example, you must first be an adept and confident reader. Whether you are is something a good test can measure.”

FirstsImportantChoicesLiteratureSocialStudyExampleEmotionalReaderSkillsTestsFavorsCriteriaRichnessSimplifyHeartbreakingCurriculumAdeptEither OrStudying Literature
Author:Nicholas Lemann
Create image

“In the current environment, attributing low student performance to teacher tenure is one of the great unproven causal links out there. The relationship just hasn't been examined very carefully, but we should all recognize that in higher education the strongest institutions generally have the most robust tenure systems, and in elementary and secondary, the states with the strongest teacher unions (and tenure systems) tend to have the highest student performance.”

ShouldStatesEnvironmentTeacherStudentsHigherHighestLowsPerformancesInstitutionsUnionsCurrentsStrongestLinksRobustHigher EducationTenureTeachers Unions
Author:Nicholas Lemann
Create image