--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a reporter who spent months in a Los…" description: "\"“When a reporter who spent months in a Los Angeles high school asked graduating seniors what they had learned, he received this reply from a boy descri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/thomas-sowell-247_graduating-seniors_when-a-reporter-who-spent-months-in-a-lo_1738552.jpg" --- # When a reporter who spent months in a Los Angeles high… ![“When a reporter who spent months in a Los Angeles high school asked graduating seniors what they had learned, he received this reply from a boy described as “the smartest student in the class”: I learned that in the Vietnam War, North and South Korea fought against each other, and then there was a…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/thomas-sowell-247_graduating-seniors_when-a-reporter-who-spent-months-in-a-lo_1738552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/thomas-sowell-247_graduating-seniors_when-a-reporter-who-spent-months-in-a-lo_1738552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d9/thomas-sowell-247_graduating-seniors_when-a-reporter-who-spent-months-in-a-lo_1738552.jpg) > ““When a reporter who spent months in a Los Angeles high school asked graduating seniors what they had learned, he received this reply from a boy described as “the smartest student in the class”: I learned that in the Vietnam War, North and South Korea fought against each other, and then there was a truce at the 38th parallel, and that Eisenhower had something to do with it. The reporter asked: Would it bother you to know that the things you learned were wrong? The answer was: Not really. Because what we really learned from Miss Silver was that we were worth listening to, that we could express ourselves and that an adult would listen, even if we were wrong. That’s why Miss Silver will always be our favorite teacher. She made us feel like we mattered, like we were important. The teacher herself saw her role in very similar terms: I want to be real in class and be a human being…. And I want my students to know that they can be themselves and I’ll still listen to them. I want every one of them to have a chance to express himself or herself. Those are my priorities.18 Neither”” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A teacher who truly listens empowers students to value themselves, regardless of factual errors. **In simple terms:** Listening teacher builds student confidence. Key Takeaway Prioritize genuine, empathetic listening. Themes education selfworth listening empowerment Mood affirming reflective Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - classroom - mentoring - student self‑expression Key Concepts pedagogy psychology humanism Questions to Reflect On - How can teachers balance empathy with factual accuracy? - What practices foster authentic student voice? A Different Perspective Listening alone cannot correct misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-learned-1498324/) [Graduating seniors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduating-seniors/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Important Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-teacher-1498321/) [Learned Miss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-miss-1498322/) [Los angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/los-angeles/) [North and south](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-and-south/) [Seniors Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seniors-learned-1498323/) [South korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-korea/) [Things learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-learned/) [Vietnam war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I had to see how I'd feel about not working, and what I've learned about myself is I miss it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-holmgren/i-had-to-see-how-i-d-feel-about-not-working-and-what-i-ve-learned/) [Mike Holmgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-holmgren/) > [I didn't take a single business class. 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There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/the-families-of-graduating-seniors-emptied-out-of-cars-sheepish-in/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Graduating seniors quotes > [“The families of graduating seniors emptied out of cars, sheepish in uncommon splendor, like milling clans at the origin of a parade. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/the-families-of-graduating-seniors-emptied-out-of-cars-sheepish-in/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-is-clear-the-future-holds-great-opportunities-it-also-holds/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“It's been well-documented that there is a growing sense of entitlement among young people. I have certainly seen that in my classrooms. So many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/it-s-been-well-documented-that-there-is-a-growing-sense-of/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/you-can-steer-yourself-in-any-direction-you-choose/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." "Don't cry because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/be-who-you-are-and-say-what-you-feel-because-those-who-mind-don-t-2/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Try not to become a man of success, but a man of value. Look around at how people want to get more out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/try-not-to-become-a-man-of-success-but-a-man-of-value-look-around-at/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Openness isn't the end; it's the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/openness-isn-t-the-end-it-s-the-beginning/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Harry taught me that death isn't the end, it's the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-love-hewitt/harry-taught-me-that-death-isn-t-the-end-it-s-the-beginning/) [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-love-hewitt/) > [Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/graduation-is-not-the-end-it-s-the-beginning/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [You are the guy who'll decide where to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/you-are-the-guy-who-ll-decide-where-to-go/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/those-who-matter-don-t-mind-and-those-who-mind-don-t-matter/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [Until you've faced a crowd of graduating seniors, you have not experienced apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-roberts/until-you-ve-faced-a-crowd-of-graduating-seniors-you-have-not/) [Gillian Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-roberts/) > [Do not follow where the path may lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/do-not-follow-where-the-path-may-lead/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 14 Graduating seniors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduating-seniors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When a reporter who spent months in a Los Angeles high school asked graduating seniors what they had learned, he received this reply from a boy described as “the smartest student in the class”: I learned that in the Vietnam War, North and South Korea fought against each other, and then there was a truce at the 38th parallel, and that Eisenhower had something to do with it. The reporter asked: Would it bother you to know that the things you learned were wrong? The answer was: Not really. Because what we really learned from Miss Silver was that we were worth listening to, that we could express ourselves and that an adult would listen, even if we were wrong. That’s why Miss Silver will always be our favorite teacher. She made us feel like we mattered, like we were important. The teacher herself saw her role in very similar terms: I want to be real in class and be a human being…. And I want my students to know that they can be themselves and I’ll still listen to them. I want every one of them to have a chance to express himself or herself. 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