There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.
Rita DoveRead
If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can’t imagine a different world, they are stumbling through a darkness made all the more sinister by its lack of reference points. For a young person growing up in America’s alienated neighborhoods, there can be no greater empowerment than to dare to speak from the heart — and then to discover that one is not alone in ones feelings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Empowering children to express their feelings helps them navigate their world and find connection with others.
Rita Dove emphasizes the importance of helping children articulate their emotions and envision a better world. Without the ability to express themselves, children may feel isolated and lost, especially in challenging environments. By encouraging them to share their true feelings, they can find empowerment and realize that others share similar experiences, fostering a sense of community and understanding.
Themes
ChildrenExpressionFeelingsEmpowermentCommunityCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
A teacher discussing the importance of emotional literacy in class.
More from Rita Dove
All quotes →Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.
Rita DoveRead
As an African-American, as a woman, I think that I've been sensitized to the way in which history privileges the white male and the way in which certain aspects of history, the things that we are taught in school, the things that are handed down, never, never entered the picture though they might have been very important.
Rita DoveRead
All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself.
Rita DoveRead
Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.
Rita DoveRead
Don't be so fast, you're all you've got.
Rita DoveRead
Similar quotes
...Writings can be stolen, or changed, or used for evil purposes. But isn't the risk worth taking? The more people who share knowledge, the greater safeguard for it. Isn't there more danger in ignorance than knowledge?
Lloyd AlexanderRead
Children astound me with their inquisitive minds. The world is wide and mysterious to them, and as they piece together the puzzle of life, they ask 'Why?' ceaselessly.
John C. MaxwellRead
Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.
Kofi AnnanRead
I emphasize teachers because they are largely left out of the debate. None of the bombastic reports that come from Washington and think tanks telling us what needs to be 'fixed' - I hate such a mechanistic word, as if our schools were automobile engines - ever asks the opinions of teachers.
Jonathan KozolRead
Perhaps we have been misguided into taking too much responsibility from our children, leaving them too little room for discovery
Helen HayesRead