To instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests and duties, as men and citizens...this brings us to the point at which are to commence the higher branches of education . . . . To develop the reasoning faculties of our youth, enlarge their minds, cultivate their morals, and instill into them the precepts of virtue and order.
Interpretation
Education is crucial for teaching citizens their rights and responsibilities while fostering moral development.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the importance of education in society, stating that it is essential to inform citizens about their rights and duties. He advocates for a comprehensive education that not only develops reasoning and critical thinking skills among the youth but also nurtures their character, instilling values of virtue and order, which are fundamental for a healthy democracy.
In practice
During a graduation speech to highlight the importance of responsible citizenship.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day.
My early childhood prepared me to be a social psychologist. I grew up in a South Bronx ghetto in a very poor family. From Sicilian origin, I was the first person in my family to complete high school, let alone go to college.
We are tired of aristocratic explanations in Harvard words.
Part of my job as Children's Laureate is to visit schools and talk about my love of books and stories and encourage them all to do it as well - to read, to write, to never be afraid of their own voice. Because we all have something to say.
Children are not less intelligent than adults; what they are is less informed.
My students have shown me so many times that it's not always about being the perfect person in the perfect position - it's about showing up when you're needed.
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