--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once you figure out something about the…" description: "\"Once you figure out something about the watershed, you'll find out where the schools are going to hell, and the kids aren't learning, and there is no m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-hass-3548_class_once-you-figure-out-something-about-the_588495.jpg" --- # Once you figure out something about the watershed, you'll… ![“Once you figure out something about the watershed, you'll find out where the schools are going to hell, and the kids aren't learning, and there is no money. Social issues, class issues, and environmental issues were all connected.” quote by Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-hass-3548_class_once-you-figure-out-something-about-the_588495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-hass-3548_class_once-you-figure-out-something-about-the_588495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/robert-hass-3548_class_once-you-figure-out-something-about-the_588495.jpg) > “Once you figure out something about the watershed, you'll find out where the schools are going to hell, and the kids aren't learning, and there is no money. Social issues, class issues, and environmental issues were all connected.” [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding one systemic problem reveals linked social, economic, and environmental failures, showing how they reinforce each other. **In simple terms:** One problem uncovers many connected problems. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not just symptoms. Themes education inequality environment policy systems Mood concerned urgent Type analytical activist When to use this quote - school reform - budget planning - community health - environmental justice - policy making Key Concepts systems thinking interconnectedness social determinants Questions to Reflect On - How do you prioritize interventions? - What hidden links exist in your community? A Different Perspective Solutions must consider trade‑offs and resource limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Environmental issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-issues/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-issues/) [Watershed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watershed/) [Watersheds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watersheds/) ## Related quotes > [If you're imaginatively responsible to the place you live in, you understand the watershed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-re-imaginatively-responsible-to-the-place-you-live-in-you/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Is that a good definition of marking the ageing watershed? That moment when you realize - quite rationally, quite unemotionally - that the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/is-that-a-good-definition-of-marking-the-ageing-watershed-that-moment/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [When you live in a watershed area, in a pristine area, and you could watch this whole place fall apart in front of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/when-you-live-in-a-watershed-area-in-a-pristine-area-and-you-could/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [I think the most important thing people can do is to learn about their watershed. And it's something no one knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-cousteau/i-think-the-most-important-thing-people-can-do-is-to-learn-about/) [Alexandra Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-cousteau/) > [Community schools, mental health access, enough reading teachers, enough professional staff, a competitive salary. Those are the things that keep schools going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cardona/community-schools-mental-health-access-enough-reading-teachers-enough/) [Miguel Cardona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cardona/) > [I will be asking my network to lead a discussion on the issues of class, race, energy, the environment, disaster planning, Iraq -- all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-williams/i-will-be-asking-my-network-to-lead-a-discussion-on-the-issues-of/) [Brian Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-williams/) > [“What was it the teacher in her Legal Issues class said the other day? Never bring up a point you don’t have an answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/what-was-it-the-teacher-in-her-legal-issues-class-said-the-other-day/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [There's this false notion that you have to separate and choose between issues of class and issues of race. What people do when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/there-s-this-false-notion-that-you-have-to-separate-and-choose/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [There isn't a river or creek in the country - or there are very few - that doesn't have some small group of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/there-isn-t-a-river-or-creek-in-the-country-or-there-are-very-few/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“Cartography. A watershed is an area of land, usually mountains or forests, that drains into a river. History is also a river. Wouldn’t you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/cartography-a-watershed-is-an-area-of-land-usually-mountains-or/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“It's hard to think of the divide where I grew up as a watershed. The creeks are dry most of the year, rainfall is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-a-colburn/it-s-hard-to-think-of-the-divide-where-i-grew-up-as-a-watershed-the/) Faith A. Colburn > [The neighborhood I grew up in had this fence that surrounds the watershed. And if you go on the other side of that fence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-neighborhood-i-grew-up-in-had-this-fence-that-surrounds-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [For me, the watershed was Hurricane Katrina. If that didn't get people out on the streets, then what will?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/for-me-the-watershed-was-hurricane-katrina-if-that-didn-t-get-people/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [When we launched Lambda, the first serverless compute service, it was a watershed moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/when-we-launched-lambda-the-first-serverless-compute-service-it-was-a/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Rome wasn't built in a day, and the internet is our new Rome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/rome-wasn-t-built-in-a-day-and-the-internet-is-our-new-rome/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) ## More by Robert Hass > [It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/it-s-the-same-with-this-idea-of-a-literate-public-and-also-of-a/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [All the new thinking is about loss. In this it resembles all the old thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/all-the-new-thinking-is-about-loss-in-this-it-resembles-all-the-old/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Poetry, when it takes sides, when it proposes solutions, isn't any smarter than anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/poetry-when-it-takes-sides-when-it-proposes-solutions-isn-t-any/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When I was in college, I lost my scholarship one year. I had enough money for tuition, but not room and board. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-was-in-college-i-lost-my-scholarship-one-year-i-had-enough/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/as-poet-laureate-i-was-asked-to-be-a-spokesman-for-literature/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [After Pope, in the beginning of Romanticism, people developed the idea that imagination rather than reason was a special form of knowledge and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/after-pope-in-the-beginning-of-romanticism-people-developed-the-idea/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [They are the kinds of things that make us a community: attachment to place, attachment to local arts traditions, the ability to read literature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/they-are-the-kinds-of-things-that-make-us-a-community-attachment-to/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I think that were I in the middle of an obsession to write about, say, sudden oak death in California or my grandchildren or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-were-i-in-the-middle-of-an-obsession-to-write-about-say/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [I suppose there's something to be said for the sheer reinforcement of our beliefs, but really I think poetry is more useful as disenchantment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-suppose-there-s-something-to-be-said-for-the-sheer-reinforcement-of/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [If you were making poetry out of convictions - trying to convince other people - you were in the territory of rhetoric, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/if-you-were-making-poetry-out-of-convictions-trying-to-convince-other/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Milton was the first person who really experimented with putting politics into sonnets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/milton-was-the-first-person-who-really-experimented-with-putting/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [When I came into the job, funding for the humanities at the federal level was being drastically cut. This was the high tide of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-i-came-into-the-job-funding-for-the-humanities-at-the-federal/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [One may prefer spring and summer to autumn and winter, but preference is hardly to the point. The earth turns, and we live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/one-may-prefer-spring-and-summer-to-autumn-and-winter-but-preference/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“ A Faint Music by Robert Hass Maybe you need to write a poem about grace. When everything broken is broken, and everything dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/a-faint-music-by-robert-hass-maybe-you-need-to-write-a-poem-about/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“When everything broken is broken, and everything dead is dead, and the hero has looked into the mirror with complete contempt, and the heroine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/when-everything-broken-is-broken-and-everything-dead-is-dead-and-the/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) [Explore all 128 Robert Hass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) ## More Class quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I grew up in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-there-are-three-classes-of-intellects-one-which-comprehends/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Right now, for many Americans, class is being foregrounded like never before because of the economic situation. It doesn't mean that race doesn't matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/right-now-for-many-americans-class-is-being-foregrounded-like-never/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [But I don't think the Democratic Party is at eye level with the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-don-t-think-the-democratic-party-is-at-eye-level-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. 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We are fighting for the middle class!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/we-are-not-going-back-to-the-failed-policies-of-the-past-we-are/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) [Browse all 7,637 Class quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once you figure out something about the watershed, you'll find out where the schools are going to hell, and the kids aren't learning, and there is no money. 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