With better vision, we sacrifice for students for whom that sacrifice will most likely pay off. I'm sorry to say this, but there are times when even superhuman effort will not save a child from his environment or himself. It's not the job of the teacher to save a child's soul; it is the teachers' job to provide an opportunity for the child to save his own soul.
Interpretation
Teachers provide opportunities for students to grow, but ultimately, students must take responsibility for their own futures.
This quote highlights the essential role of educators in creating opportunities for their students, suggesting that while teachers can offer support and resources, the ultimate responsibility for personal success lies with the students themselves. It acknowledges the challenges that some students face in their environments and emphasizes that teachers cannot rescue every child but can equip them to navigate their own paths toward success.
In practice
During a keynote speech at a teacher's conference to inspire educators to motivate their students.
Never compare one student's test score to another's. Always measure a child's progress against her past performance. There will always be a better reader, mathematician, or baseball player. Our goal is to help each student become as special as she can be as an individual--not to be more special than the kid sitting next to her.
If you invest in a girl or a woman, you are investing in everybody else.
In the end, what makes a book valuable is not the paper it's printed on, but the thousands of hours of work by dozens of people who are dedicated to creating the best possible reading experience for you.
It's important for Asian American kids to see themselves in stories and to feel seen. They need to know that their stories are universal, too, that they, too, can fall in love in a teen movie. They don't have to be the sidekick; they can be the hero.
I remember going to university, and the people who'd left home for the first time looked at the food and were horrified. Whereas, my view was that if it was vaguely edible, then it's fine.
Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.
I am an earnest advocate of manual training and trade teaching for black boys, and for white boys, too.
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