--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He decided to volunteer as a reading…" description: "\"“He decided to volunteer as a reading tutor at their local elementary school. These were tiny steps, but he must try to make amends. If you ever gave u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/liz-rosenberg-34499_elementary-school_he-decided-to-volunteer-as-a-reading-tut_851695.jpg" --- # He decided to volunteer as a reading tutor at their local… ![“He decided to volunteer as a reading tutor at their local elementary school. These were tiny steps, but he must try to make amends. If you ever gave up trying to change and improve yourself, you were finished, kaput. He remembered the last conversation he’d had with Tom Lieu, before” quote by Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/liz-rosenberg-34499_elementary-school_he-decided-to-volunteer-as-a-reading-tut_851695.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/liz-rosenberg-34499_elementary-school_he-decided-to-volunteer-as-a-reading-tut_851695.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/liz-rosenberg-34499_elementary-school_he-decided-to-volunteer-as-a-reading-tut_851695.jpg) > ““He decided to volunteer as a reading tutor at their local elementary school. These were tiny steps, but he must try to make amends. If you ever gave up trying to change and improve yourself, you were finished, kaput. He remembered the last conversation he’d had with Tom Lieu, before”” [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Small, consistent actions can lead to personal redemption, but giving up ends growth. **In simple terms:** Tiny steps help change; quitting stops progress. Key Takeaway Keep acting, even modestly. Themes self‑improvement redemption perseverance Mood reflective encouraging Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - self‑reflection - recovery Key Concepts habit formation personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take today? - How do setbacks affect motivation? A Different Perspective Progress can be slow and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elementary school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementary-school/) [Improve Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improve-yourself/) [Make Amends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-amends/) [Reading Tutor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-tutor-757342/) [Trying Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-change/) [Trying to change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-to-change/) [Tutor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tutor/) [Tutor Local](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tutor-local-757345/) ## Related quotes > [Caught in a racial uproar, people make all sorts of promises to make amends. 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Take my advice, child. Don't waste your precious life with regrets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hesse/as-long-as-you-live-it-is-never-too-late-to-make-amends-take-my/) [Karen Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hesse/) > [When you realize youve made a mistake, make amends immediately. Its easier to eat crow while its still warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-realize-youve-made-a-mistake-make-amends-immediately-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put that pride/stubbornness aside and reach out to someone n make amends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-that-pride-stubbornness-aside-and-reach-out-to-someone-n-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-we-shadows-have-offended-think-but-this-and-all-is-mended-that-you/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Liz Rosenberg > [“These secrets came down my own ornately curved and twisting family line. For family stories are never as direct as history books, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/these-secrets-came-down-my-own-ornately-curved-and-twisting-family/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“The purpose of family is to preserve life,' Aunt Patti said. 'We treat family members the way we're supposed to treat everyone on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/the-purpose-of-family-is-to-preserve-life-aunt-patti-said-we-treat/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“purpose. We have a purpose in this life, and every minute we can make bad choices or good ones. Today I feel I’ve made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/purpose-we-have-a-purpose-in-this-life-and-every-minute-we-can-make/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“Nonsense,” Bridget said. “The secret to happiness is freedom—and the secret to freedom is courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/nonsense-bridget-said-the-secret-to-happiness-is-freedom-and-the/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“Every family has one living patriarch or matriarch, the final arbiter and repository of ancient family history, and Nicole's Aunt Patti was the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/every-family-has-one-living-patriarch-or-matriarch-the-final-arbiter/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“Let’s agree right here at the outset that memory is made up of one part perception, one part intuition, and one part pure invention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/let-s-agree-right-here-at-the-outset-that-memory-is-made-up-of-one/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“me for walking too heavily on the wooden”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/me-for-walking-too-heavily-on-the-wooden/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“If you think you have come to an unhappy ending, it is not the true end. Keep going awhile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/if-you-think-you-have-come-to-an-unhappy-ending-it-is-not-the-true/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“Your brakes have gone out. May as well pretend to enjoy the ride.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/your-brakes-have-gone-out-may-as-well-pretend-to-enjoy-the-ride/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“I am remembering it now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/i-am-remembering-it-now/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“Things are looking better already. If you think you have come to an unhappy ending, it is not the true end. Keep going awhile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/things-are-looking-better-already-if-you-think-you-have-come-to-an/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“People get so frightened for no reason, but I'll tell you, to live with no purpose is a far more frightening proposition... You bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/people-get-so-frightened-for-no-reason-but-i-ll-tell-you-to-live-with/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) > [“And that was the thing: you couldn't just stand there gawking at the world. A car slipped by. Then another. It was as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-rosenberg/and-that-was-the-thing-you-couldn-t-just-stand-there-gawking-at-the/) [Liz Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) [Explore all 14 Liz Rosenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-rosenberg/) ## More Elementary school quotes > [My mother grew up in abject poverty in Mississippi, an elementary school dropout. Yet, with the support of women around her, she returned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-abrams/my-mother-grew-up-in-abject-poverty-in-mississippi-an-elementary/) [Stacey Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-abrams/) > [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/ask-yourself-how-many-people-you-have-met-who-grumbled-at-a-thing-as/) [G.K. 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Play-Doh was pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-blackwell/john-davis-smells-like-play-doh-when-we-were-in-elementary-school-it/) [Tammy Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-blackwell/) > [I stumbled upon Charles White purely by chance while looking through a book 'Great Negroes, Past and Present' in the library at Forty-Ninth Street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/i-stumbled-upon-charles-white-purely-by-chance-while-looking-through/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [In late elementary school, early high school, I started losing my hair in chunks in the shower. It was one of the scariest things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessia-cara/in-late-elementary-school-early-high-school-i-started-losing-my-hair/) [Alessia Cara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessia-cara/) > [My mother was an elementary school teacher for 35 years and taught at the Nixon School in New Jersey. I was raised as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/my-mother-was-an-elementary-school-teacher-for-35-years-and-taught-at/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [“Abuse doesn’t come from people’s inability to resolve conflicts but from one person’s decision to claim a higher status than another. So while it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/abuse-doesn-t-come-from-people-s-inability-to-resolve-conflicts-but/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“I stayed indoors most of the time, which kept my skin very white. And my hair was as black as Ilana's. I wore black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-budnitz/i-stayed-indoors-most-of-the-time-which-kept-my-skin-very-white-and/) [Judy Budnitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-budnitz/) > [Americans need to educate themselves, from elementary school onward, about what their country has done abroad. And they need to play a more active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/americans-need-to-educate-themselves-from-elementary-school-onward/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When I was in elementary school, I used to write letters to myself. I'd write letters and go 'Dear Kristen-at-16-years-old, happy birthday. I hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-kreuk/when-i-was-in-elementary-school-i-used-to-write-letters-to-myself-i-d/) [Kristin Kreuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-kreuk/) > [“Casey glanced at her plate again, recalling the posters of her elementary school lunchroom: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. 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