--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the things that happened that I…" description: "\"One of the things that happened that I think is noteworthy, my parents were pretty tolerant people given their position in society. They were pretty in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/bill-ayers-1848_able_one-of-the-things-that-happened-that-i-t_2380338.jpg" --- # One of the things that happened that I think is… ![“One of the things that happened that I think is noteworthy, my parents were pretty tolerant people given their position in society. They were pretty interesting about being interesting able to look at their children and think oh my children know things and they gave us a lot of sense of our own…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/bill-ayers-1848_able_one-of-the-things-that-happened-that-i-t_2380338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/bill-ayers-1848_able_one-of-the-things-that-happened-that-i-t_2380338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/bill-ayers-1848_able_one-of-the-things-that-happened-that-i-t_2380338.jpg) > “One of the things that happened that I think is noteworthy, my parents were pretty tolerant people given their position in society. They were pretty interesting about being interesting able to look at their children and think oh my children know things and they gave us a lot of sense of our own agency, and that may be a kind of a ruling class trait.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encouraging children’s agency and curiosity fosters independent thinking and empowerment. **In simple terms:** Support kids’ independence. Key Takeaway Foster curiosity and agency. Themes education agency parenting Mood thoughtful inspirational Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - parental guidance - community programs - policy making Key Concepts developmental psychology critical thinking social class dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance personal agency with systemic support? - What role does socioeconomic status play in fostering agency? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on agency can neglect structural constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agency/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-able-5288345/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [My children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-children/) [Noteworthy Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noteworthy-parents-5893504/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Parents Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-pretty-741443/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Ruling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tolerant People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerant-people-344817/) [Traits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traits/) ## Related quotes > [Not being able to touch is sometimes as interesting as being able to touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/not-being-able-to-touch-is-sometimes-as-interesting-as-being-able-to/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [I don't know, my parents were pretty open about a lot of things, especially my mom. And any kind of little crazy thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-famuyiwa/i-don-t-know-my-parents-were-pretty-open-about-a-lot-of-things/) [Rick Famuyiwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-famuyiwa/) > [“Ever since people are kids they use their parents as some sort of measurement for how bad a situation is. When you fall on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/ever-since-people-are-kids-they-use-their-parents-as-some-sort-of/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [My parents are pretty cool people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-monaghan/my-parents-are-pretty-cool-people/) [Dominic Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-monaghan/) > [My parents were pretty cool about letting me listen to whatever I wanted. The only objection might have been playing music too loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-scott/my-parents-were-pretty-cool-about-letting-me-listen-to-whatever-i/) [Adam Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-scott/) > [I'm originally from Tampa and grew up on beach. I'm also naturally fair-skinned. The funny thing is, my parents are both pretty tan, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-snow/i-m-originally-from-tampa-and-grew-up-on-beach-i-m-also-naturally/) [Brittany Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-snow/) > [We'd practice in my living room and it was awesome. Our parents were pretty supportive of it because they thought it was cute. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-gilbert/we-d-practice-in-my-living-room-and-it-was-awesome-our-parents-were/) [Chad Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-gilbert/) > [My parents are pretty strict 'education first - fun later' kind of parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-solomon/my-parents-are-pretty-strict-education-first-fun-later-kind-of-parents/) [Stacey Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-solomon/) > [My parents were pretty open-minded people, but I think leaving them at a young age really made me grow up fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-bingham/my-parents-were-pretty-open-minded-people-but-i-think-leaving-them-at/) [Ryan Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-bingham/) > [In real life, my parents pretty much approved of all my boyfriends. I guess I was doing something wrong. I should have been more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-pulsipher/in-real-life-my-parents-pretty-much-approved-of-all-my-boyfriends-i/) [Lindsay Pulsipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-pulsipher/) > [My parents are pretty liberal. But they were just you know trying to look out for my innocence or whatever. But my babysitter had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/my-parents-are-pretty-liberal-but-they-were-just-you-know-trying-to/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [My parents are pretty good about keeping me humble. They brought me up good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-lautner/my-parents-are-pretty-good-about-keeping-me-humble-they-brought-me-up/) [Taylor Lautner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-lautner/) > [My parents have always had pretty high expectations, but they're very supportive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-cohan/my-parents-have-always-had-pretty-high-expectations-but-they-re-very/) [Lauren Cohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-cohan/) > [My parents were pretty open about a lot of things, especially my mom. And any kind of little crazy thing I was into, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gross/my-parents-were-pretty-open-about-a-lot-of-things-especially-my-mom/) [Terry Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gross/) > [My parents are pretty open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-fukuhara/my-parents-are-pretty-open-minded/) [Karen Fukuhara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-fukuhara/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the things that happened that I think is noteworthy, my parents were pretty tolerant people given their position in society. 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