I want my kids to know that they're just as good and just as American as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, or Dr. Martin Luther King. My worst fear is they will become ordinary. — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
I have students who are PhDs in music who come back and scored the music and teach the kids the instruments that I don't… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
I don't think we expect enough of students. They just need someone to show them the way. — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' I realized then where the problem lay. My students, and so many of our young people today, want a good life. They love (even if they don't always appreciate) liberty. They all want to be happy. But I realized that day that my class was a microcosm of what is wrong with some… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share
“Those who celebrate failure will not be around to help today's students celebrate their jobs flipping burgers.” — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
I always tell the kids that excellence is like pregnancy. You can't be a little bit pregnant. You either are or you're not. — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
Good teachers are an endangered species because they're giving up because of the tests and everything. — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
I'd like to give every young teacher some good news. Teaching is a very easy job. Administrators will tell you what to do. You'll be given books and told chapters to assign the children. Veteran teachers will show you the correct way to fill out forms and have your classes line up.And here's some more good news. If you do… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share
You hear terrible stories because there'll be a story about some terrible kid, but most of the kids I work with are terrific kids.… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
“Everything has become too easy for our young people, and we make things worse by lying to them. We don't help them face reality.… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
I am asking teachers to understand that we must make the education relevant for the children. If they're only working for the tests or… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
“I didn't realize that many people, who may be good people, feel that working in schools is just a job and not a holy… — Rafe Esquith Copy Share Image
