“I was aware that a quarter of the children in the country are born in poverty, and that the condition of public schools in California was disastrous.” ChildrenCountrySchoolBornPovertyConditionsCaliforniaQuartersPublic School Author:Robert Hass
“I came from a very comfortable, middle-class family living in Highland Park, Illinois.Really growing up in a Jewish community with a fabulous public school.” SchoolCommunityClassGrowing UpGrowingMiddleComfortableParksMiddle ClassFabulousPublic SchoolIllinoisMiddle Class FamilyJewish Community Author:Jill Stein
“Unfortunately, race still determines too much, often determines where people live, determines what kind of education in their public schools they can get, and, yes, it determines how they're treated in the criminal justice system.” PeopleKindStillsSchoolJusticeRaceToo MuchDetermineCriminalsTreatedPublic SchoolJustice SystemCriminal JusticeCriminal Justice System Author:Hillary Clinton
“My father loved to complain about big business and big government, but we had a solid middle class upbringing. We had good public schools. We had accessible health care. We had our little, you know, one-family house that, you know, he saved up his money, didn't believe in mortgages.” KnowsBelieveLittlesBigsGovernmentCareSchoolFatherHouseClassMiddleComplainingSavedHealth CareMiddle ClassPublic SchoolUpbringingMortgageBig BusinessBig Government Author:Hillary Clinton
“The more evolutionary theory gets called an atheistic theory, the greater the risk that it will lose its place in public school biology courses in the United States. If the theory is thought of in this way, one should not be surprised if a judge at some point decides that teaching evolutionary theory violates the Constitutional principle of neutrality with respect to religion.” IfsWayShouldStatesSchoolCoursesLosesUnitedPrinciplesUnited StatesGreaterRiskTeachingJudgingTheoryBiologyPublic SchoolAtheisticNeutrality Author:Elliott Sober
“We used to have superb public schools. I guess we don't anymore, but, boy, the public schools were really something and I am a product of those in Indianapolis.” SchoolUsedBoysProductsPublic SchoolSuperbIndianapolis Author:Kurt Vonnegut
“I have many sources of inspiration. I'd have to point to Dr. Martin Luther King, first and foremost. But my parents were good, hardworking folks who kept us in the church and the public schools, and out of trouble, for the most part.” FirstsInspirationSchoolParentChurchTroubleSourceKingsFolksDrsLutherPublic SchoolHardworkingSource Of InspirationDr Martin Luther King Author:Van Jones
“I [have big plans]. Promoting freedom around the world, particularly with women in the Middle East. Working on global disease. Working on accountability in public schools. And advocating for a free marketplace and an economic environment in which businesses can innovate and create jobs.” WorldBigsSchoolJobsEnvironmentPlansEconomicMiddleDiseaseEastAround The WorldAccountabilityMiddle EastFree MarketPromotingPublic SchoolMarketplaceAdvocating Author:George W. Bush
“I knew early on that I wanted to be a reporter, but I didn't know I was a political journalist until my first job in Boston, in the '70s, covering the public school committee at a time when busing was a huge issue. Children's lives were being directly affected by political decisions, and that's when I realized that everything is politics.” KnowsFirstsChildrenWantedSchoolJobsPoliticalDecisionIssuesHugeI RealizedJournalistAffectedReportersCommitteesBostonPublic SchoolCoveringPolitical Decisions Author:Gwen Ifill
“The fact is in a city like Chicago, for example, unemployment in the black community is around 20 percent for adults, 35 percent for youth, they bail out the banks, public schools, there is a deep divide. We need a plan for reconstruction and redevelopment and I hope that - police are the gatekeepers but behind that gate are these problems of disparities and injustice.” NeedsFactsProblemSchoolBlackCommunityCitiesBehindsPlansExampleYouthPercentAdultsPoliceInjusticeGatesChicagoDividesUnemploymentPublic SchoolReconstructionDisparityBlack CommunityBailGatekeepers Author:Jesse Jackson
“English was my fourth language. I arrived, I enrolled in public school, as a child, I believe I was about six years old when we finally landed in Michigan. And I was initially put in special education because I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the English language because I was listening to Hungarian and Albanian and German. My mind broke down like I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fourth language.” YearsMindBelieveChildrenSchoolLanguageI BelieveSpecialListeningSixBrokeFourthPublic SchoolEnglish LanguageWrapsMichiganSix Year OldsHungariansAlbanianSpecial Education Author:Masiela Lusha
“Finally, one night we were smoking pot [with Michael O'Donoghue] and talking about the people that are invariably in high school, whether you go to prep school or public school or ghetto school or rich suburban school. And actually, it spun off from a Kurt Vonnegut quote.” PeopleSchoolNightTalkingRichHigh SchoolSmokingPotPublic SchoolOne NightGhettoSpunPrepsSmoking Pot Author:P. J. O'Rourke
“90 percent of American schoolchildren are in public schools. And the emphasis on private schools and charter schools and parochial schools is not unimportant.” SchoolPercentEmphasisPublic SchoolUnimportantCharterPrivate SchoolCharter Schools Author:Mark Shields
“I'm not sure Betsy DeVos has ever spent a day in a public school. And I don't - I'm pretty sure Donald Trump hasn't.” SchoolTrumpNot SurePublic School Author:Mark Shields
“I do look upon the secretary of education's primary responsibility as the quality of education that - and improving the education that every child in American public schools receives.” LooksChildrenSchoolQualityResponsibilityPrimariesLook UpSecretaryImprovingPublic School Author:Mark Shields
“Charter schools are public schools. They're paid for publicly and they're part of the public system. They just have a more independent structure.” SchoolPaidIndependentStructurePublic SchoolCharterCharter Schools Author:David Brooks
“American education will be determined by the quality of American public education, and that's public schools that are available.” SchoolQualityAvailableDeterminedPublic SchoolPublic EducationAmerican Education Author:Mark Shields
“You know that Estonia, based largely on how successful Skype was, built by Estonian developers, that was a tenth of the entire country's GDP when eBay bought it. That was like a decade ago, it was f****** Estonia, they were behind the Iron Curtain two decades earlier. They're now pushing for K-12 education in computer science in public schools. They've gotten the message. They know how much value that can bring.” KnowsTwoCountrySchoolValuesBehindsKnow HowSuccessfulComputerMessagesBuiltDecadesIronPushingCurtainsPublic SchoolComputer ScienceDevelopersGdpEbaySkypeIron CurtainEstoniaEstonians Author:Alexis Ohanian
“Sandra Day O'Connor - once she said that there are - there were no public schools in America until the 18th century, and she overlooked my alma mater because we started - I say we - in 1635. And among the people who went there - and they're on - the walls in the auditorium, the names are: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, except he split when he was 10 years old to go to work.” PeopleYearsSaidSchoolAmericaNamesCenturyWallSplitsPublic SchoolFranklinCottonOverlooked18th CenturyAuditoriumsSandra Day O ConnorAlma MaterWaldo EmersonRalph Waldo Author:Nat Hentoff
“I was sent to the regular public schools until I had to go to Belmont Hill. Because I wasn't doing anything. The public school was nothing, just a total waste of time.” SchoolWasteHillsWasting TimePublic School Author:Paul Laffoley
“[Kenneth Koch] taught children in public schools in New York City to write poems and told them down worry about rhyming, don't worry about any of that stuff. You know, write a poem where you mention three colors and make it five lines - or he would just give them, you know, little strategies. And, man, they wrote some great poems.” KnowsMenGivingWritingChildrenLittlesSchoolThreeStuffLinesCitiesWorryFiveNew YorkTaughtColorStrategyNew York CityPublic SchoolRhymingKenneth Author:Jim Jarmusch
“When I was growing up, there were a lot more arts in the public schools. Politically, America has screwed up on that.” ArtSchoolAmericaGrowing UpGrowingPublic SchoolScrewed Up Author:Julie Taymor
“On the [Betsy] DeVos case, I agree that the gun - her gun position is kind of weird, kind of crazy, but I do think she does know about public schools.” ThinkingKnowsKindDoeSchoolCasesCrazyPositionGunAgreePublic School Author:David Brooks
“[Betsy DeVos] does care about charter schools, which are public schools. She does care about choice, which is a perfectly legitimate thing to care about. It's because it's the one issue where the Democratic donor base was really energized, which was the teacher unions.” DoeCareSchoolChoicesIssuesTeacherUnionsDemocraticPublic SchoolCharterDonorsCharter SchoolsTeachers Unions Author:David Brooks
“One fact we're particularly proud of is that there are more people learning languages on Duolingo in the US than there are people learning languages in the entire US public school system.” PeopleFactsSchoolLanguageProudPublic SchoolSchool SystemLearning Language Author:Luis von Ahn
“Now have two generations whose minds have been totally perverted, polluted, and destroyed by the American public education system, and, in particular, the history curriculum. Breitbart has a story on how this has happened. As the left appeases Muslims, public schools are teaching students to hate America.” MindHas BeensTwoStoriesSchoolAmericaHateLeftGenerationsHappenedTeachingStudentsParticularDestroyedPublic SchoolEducation SystemCurriculumPublic EducationAppeaseTeaching Students Author:Rush Limbaugh
“Public schools teaching students to hate America as the left appeases Muslims with "religious literacy training."” SchoolAmericaHateLeftReligiousTeachingStudentsTrainingLiteracyPublic SchoolAppeaseTeaching Students Author:Rush Limbaugh
“The trouble is that Millennials and many recent products of the public schools believe that America was made great, if they're even taught that it's great, if they're taught that it's great, you know what they're told is the reason? Diversity. There's diversity all over the world. You can go to places where there is diversity out the wazoo, folks. You can go to places all over the place world and you can find the most diversity, you can find perfect diversity, however you find it. You will not find a United States.” IfsKnowsWorldBelieveMadeStatesReasonSchoolAmericaPerfectUnitedUnited StatesTroubleTaughtProductsDiversityFolksPublic SchoolMillennials Author:Rush Limbaugh
“My dad was a doctor who worked at a jail. He was more like a jail administrator. My mom was a public school teacher. There's no artists in my family whatsoever. So I don't know how that got in my gene pool, but it did.” KnowsSchoolArtistKnow HowTeacherMomDadMy FamilyDoctorsMy DadMy MomJailPoolGenesPublic SchoolDoctor WhoSchool TeachersAdministrators Author:Dan Amboyer
“In America, we started the public school system very early in the century, and as a consequence we had more skilled workers than any nation on Earth, which meant that we were more productive than any nation on Earth.” SchoolEarthAmericaNationsCenturyConsequenceWorkersProductivePublic SchoolSchool SystemSkilled Workers Author:Barack Obama
“I didn't think I was good at anything, didn't do well in school. And then in the third grade, I was going to a public school. And the teacher was putting math problems on the board. And I said to myself - it's amazing how you can remember certain incidents at any age that made an impression - I asked myself why is she putting those up when the answers are obvious. And then I saw it wasn't obvious to anybody else in the class. So I said, "Hey, I'm good at something."” ThinkingWellsMadeSaidProblemAgeSchoolRememberCertainAnswersClassSawsTeacherThirdsObviousMathImpressionHeyBoardsGradesPublic SchoolIncidentsThird GradeMath Problems Author:Charles Koch
“Building great public schools and universities, a strong health care system, including keeping the Affordable Care Act, and then an economy that works well for people so that when they put in a hard day's work, they can support themselves and their family members. Those are the fundamentals that have distinguished America from other nations in the world.” PeopleWorldWellsHardCareSchoolAmericaStrongNationsSupportEconomyBuildingMembersFundamentalsIncludingUniversityHealth CarePublic SchoolDistinguishedAffordableFamily MembersHealth Care SystemAffordable Care ActHard Days Author:Joaquin Castro
“We are watching people who've been educated in the public school system and in colleges for the last 25 or 30 years become adults. They're getting jobs as TV commentators and journalists and writers and editors and producers in the media. And we're simply seeing the product of what they've been taught. And they so hate what they've been told is America's history and past that they want everybody to know they disagree with it and they've got nothing to do with it, and they had nothing to do with it, and don't blame them.” PeopleKnowsWantYearsSchoolJobsLastsAmericaPastHateSeeingMediaTaughtCollegeTvsProductsAdultsBlameProducersEducatedJournalistEditorsDisagreePublic SchoolCommentatorsSchool System Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I have an absolutely unshakable faith in kids, grounded in the fact that I worked for three years in one of the worst public schools in Baltimore, with kids most people would write off because of their backgrounds. But, when I set high expectations, at the end of the day, these kids went from scoring at the bottom on standardized tests, to scoring at the top, despite their unfortunate circumstances.” PeopleWritingYearsEndsFactsKidsSchoolThreeWorstCircumstancesExpectationsTestsBottomBackgroundsDespiteThe End Of The DayThree YearsUnfortunateGroundedPublic SchoolBaltimoreUnshakableHigh ExpectationsUnshakable FaithUnfortunate Circumstances Author:Michelle Rhee
“My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words, but by their deeds that ye shall know them" -pointing out that if I was a true atheist, I would not permit the public schools of America to force him to read the Bible and say prayers against his will. He was right.” IfsKnowsSchoolAmericaForcePrayerSonBillsAtheistDeedsMy SonPermitPointingPublic School1960sParables Author:Madalyn Murray O'Hair
“If you are a kid in America, and you live in a secular home and go to public school, you know nothing about Jesus of Nazareth. The only time you hear the word Jesus is when somebody's yelling at you - Jesus, okay?” IfsKnowsHomeKidsSchoolAmericaJesusOkaySecularOnly TimePublic SchoolYellingNazareth Author:Bill O'Reilly
“I would just go insane in a public school. I don't have enough clothes.You have to be Heidi Klum to go to public school now. It's crazy. I feel sorry for these kids, not to mention that the new Secretary Of Education, Betsy DeVos, is against education.” FeelsEnoughKidsSchoolCrazyClothesSorryInsaneSecretaryPublic SchoolHeidi Author:Judy Tenuta
“It pains me, it really does, to learn that there are people that hate America. I wish there was something I could do about it. I don't want young people to be taken down the wrong path and taught to feel guilty or ashamed of their country, which is happening in way too many public schools.” PeopleCountrySchoolPainHateWishPathTakenGuiltyAshamedPublic School Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I worry that the weakness - particularly of our public schools - is going to make that less and less true for everybody. And if we ever lose that as our core, then we're going to lose our confidence. We're not going to lead. We're going to protect. We're going to turn inward. That would be very bad for the world. So as a former Secretary of State, I think I can advocate for education as a national security priority.” ThinkingWorldSchoolWorrySecurityProtectWeaknessPrioritiesSecretaryNational SecurityPublic School Author:Condoleezza Rice
“I had serious reservations about putting my son in the public schools in my area. I have a tremendous amount of fear for the future of my boy. He's nine-and- a-half and dark-skinned. By the time he's 12 or 13, who knows who he's going to be identifying with in these days when you get shot down for wearing expensive Nikes to school...I've heard that if a Latino makes it to 19 years of age, he has a good chance of surviving into adulthood. Up until then, you don't know.” AgeSchoolChanceBoysSeriousSonMy SonAdulthoodSurvivingPublic SchoolLatinoMy BoysNike Author:Ana Castillo
“Privatization radically alters power relations in our society by weakening groups like public employees and public school teachers.” SchoolTeacherRelationEmployeePublic School Author:Nancy MacLean
“My father said, "Okay, enough with the Jewish school." He put me into a public school and he said, "If you are the first one in your class, that means the school is bad." That was his humor.” MeanEnoughSchoolFatherOkayPublic School Author:Chantal Akerman
“I like playing at public schools. I like when there's more of a diverse audience. I'll play wherever people want to hear my music, and I'll be glad and grateful for the opportunity, but I'd rather not play for a bunch of white privileged kids. I'm not meaning that in a disrespectful way; you go where people want to hear your music. So if that's where people want to hear me play, I'm glad to play for them. But I'd rather play for an audience where half of them were not into it than one where all of them were pretending to be into it, for fear of being uncultured.” PeopleKidsSchoolOpportunityAudienceGratefulGladPretendingDiversePublic SchoolDisrespectful Author:Bradford Cox
“The 1970s were the height of social mobility. College was accessible. My grandfather was a poor immigrant who went to a public school in Ohio, and my father went to Harvard. That wasn't unusual. There was a feeling that anything was possible and you didn't have to be born into money to have a successful life. Now, people don't believe in the idea that anything is possible. We have more inequality than we've had ever before and a greater concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.” PeopleBelieveFeelingsSchoolFatherWealthPoorSuccessfulCollegeInequalityConcentrationUnusualGrandfatherPublic SchoolMy GrandfatherAnything Is PossibleSuccessful Life Author:Lauren Greenfield
“If our public school system is a truly democratic institution. It's the place where we can reach every child in this county from kindergarten. What an opportunity to edibly educate them. I don't just mean a glorified cooking class. I've never thought of it that way. I have always thought of it as a way to empower students to learn, to give them confidence, and to nourish them. So, I think the centerpiece has to be a free, sustainable school lunch for every child.” ThinkingGivingMeanChildrenSchoolOpportunityStudentsCookingDemocraticEmpoweringEducatePublic SchoolCountyKindergartenSchool Lunch Author:Alice Waters
“All boys and girls should have the opportunity to receive a high-quality education, no matter what part of the country they live in and irrespective of whether their parents are rich or poor. It is the state's duty to make sufficient money available for the establishment of good public schools. A well-educated youth is crucial so that Chile can continue to grow economically.” CountrySchoolGirlOpportunityParentPoorBoysRichYouthDutyPublic SchoolBoy And Girl Author:Michelle Bachelet
“The first generation of school reformers I talk about - nineteenth century education reformer Horace Mann, Catharine Beecher - they are true believers in their vision for public education. They have a missionary zeal. And this to me connects them a lot to folks today, whether it's education activist Campbell Brown or former D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee. It's a righteous sense, a reform push that's driven by a strong belief in a particular set of solutions.” TodaySchoolBeliefStrongVisionSolutionsDrivenBelieverActivistMissionaryRighteousPublic SchoolZealPublic EducationTrue Believer Author:Dana Goldstein
“During the decades after Brown v. Board of Education there was terrific progress. Tens of thousands of public schools were integrated racially. During that time the gap between black and white achievement narrowed.” SchoolBlackWhiteProgressAchievementDecadesBoardsBrownGapsBlack And WhiteTerrificPublic SchoolIntegratedBoard Of Education Author:Jonathan Kozol
“I had a great education. From kindergarten to John Dewey High School in Coney Island, I am public-school educated.” SchoolHigh SchoolEducatedIslandsPublic SchoolKindergartenGreat EducationConey Island Author:Spike Lee
“When I went to school, you had to take art, you had to play an instrument. You had to play an instrument. But it's all degraded since then. I do not know what kind of nation we are that is cutting art, music, and gym out of the public-school curriculum.” KnowsKindArtPlaySchoolNationsCuttingInstrumentsGymPublic SchoolCurriculumArt MusicSchool Curriculum Author:Spike Lee