--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My sister is a public school teacher. She…" description: "\"My sister is a public school teacher. She makes far far less money than I do, and gets almost no public attention for her work. Yet I believe what she ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png" --- # My sister is a public school teacher. She makes far far… ![“My sister is a public school teacher. She makes far far less money than I do, and gets almost no public attention for her work. Yet I believe what she does is infinitely more important and more difficult than what I do.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png) > “My sister is a public school teacher. She makes far far less money than I do, and gets almost no public attention for her work. Yet I believe what she does is infinitely more important and more difficult than what I do.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It highlights the disparity between public recognition and the true societal value of essential work, emphasizing humility and respect for underappreciated roles. **In simple terms:** Important work often lacks fame and pay. Key Takeaway Respect and support undervalued essential work. Themes social justice humility valuation Mood empathetic inspirational Type advocacy thought‑provoking When to use this quote - policy advocacy - family discussions - career choices - community support Key Concepts economics gender education Questions to Reflect On - How can we better honor essential workers? - What policies could address pay gaps? A Different Perspective Recognition may not translate to material reward. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Public school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-school/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-teacher/) [School teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-teachers/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) ## Related quotes > [Anybody who knows the public school teacher world knows there's not a lot of money in teaching. You do it because you love what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sorbo/anybody-who-knows-the-public-school-teacher-world-knows-there-s-not-a/) [Kevin Sorbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sorbo/) > [My mum and dad both worked full-time jobs to send my sister and I to public school, and to allow us to play the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-clarke/my-mum-and-dad-both-worked-full-time-jobs-to-send-my-sister-and-i-to/) [Michael Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-clarke/) > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [No matter how good a public school teacher, he or she will always be required to teach the state's values and the state's perspective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/no-matter-how-good-a-public-school-teacher-he-or-she-will-always-be/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [I could be a school teacher and be rich. It has nothing to do with your money; it has to do with your knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/i-could-be-a-school-teacher-and-be-rich-it-has-nothing-to-do-with/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [My mom is a public school teacher and works with third grade students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/my-mom-is-a-public-school-teacher-and-works-with-third-grade-students/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [I'm a high school teacher. I'm someone who stumbles my way through, leads with my chin in some cases, leads with my heart in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/i-m-a-high-school-teacher-i-m-someone-who-stumbles-my-way-through/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [I wanted to be an elementary school teacher my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/i-wanted-to-be-an-elementary-school-teacher-my-whole-life/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) > [Being a high school teacher was wonderful, but unsustainable: I needed a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-greenwell/being-a-high-school-teacher-was-wonderful-but-unsustainable-i-needed/) [Garth Greenwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-greenwell/) > [A high-school teacher, after all, is a person deputized by the rest of us to explain to the young what sort of world they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-capouya/a-high-school-teacher-after-all-is-a-person-deputized-by-the-rest-of/) Emile Capouya > [My parents, grandmother and brother were teachers. My mother taught Latin and French and was the school librarian. My father taught geography and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/my-parents-grandmother-and-brother-were-teachers-my-mother-taught/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [The toughest thing for a homeschooler is the same as for a school teacher - shifting from a weak tea vision of math being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-golden/the-toughest-thing-for-a-homeschooler-is-the-same-as-for-a-school/) John Golden > [When I decided that I wanted to go to college, I wanted to be a school teacher for 7th and 8th grade boys because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-i-decided-that-i-wanted-to-go-to-college-i-wanted-to-be-a-school/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [You can't hold me to the same standard as the president or a school teacher. I'm just a comedian. My job is like Archie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/you-can-t-hold-me-to-the-same-standard-as-the-president-or-a-school/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [During my eleven years as a New York City public school teacher, I saw firsthand the impact that poverty has on the classroom. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-albanese/during-my-eleven-years-as-a-new-york-city-public-school-teacher-i-saw/) [Sal Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-albanese/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My sister is a public school teacher. She makes far far less money than I do, and gets almost no public attention for her work. Yet I believe what she does is infinitely more important and more difficult than what I do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she-makes-far-far-less-money/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she-makes-far-far-less-money/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/anna-quindlen-467_attention_my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she_522998.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My sister is a public school teacher. She makes far far less money than I do, and gets almost no public…” — Anna Quindlen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My sister is a public school...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she-makes-far-far-less-money/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/my-sister-is-a-public-school-teacher-she-makes-far-far-less-money/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```