If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.
David McculloughRead
I just thank my father and mother, my lucky stars, that I had the advantage of an education in the humanities.
Interpretation
The speaker expresses gratitude for receiving a humanities education from their parents.
David McCullough reflects on the importance of his upbringing and the educational opportunities he was afforded through the humanities. He acknowledges the role of his parents and fate in shaping his appreciation for the arts and humanities, suggesting that such education provides valuable insights into human nature and society.
In practice
During a graduation speech to celebrate the achievements of students in the humanities, this quote highlights the value of their education.
If you get down about the state of American culture, just remember there are still more public libraries in this country than there are McDonalds.
There is only one person who can measure your success. That person is you.
Napoleon could never imagine that some people loved their country as much as he loved his own.
When the founders wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they didn't mean longer vacations and more comfortable hammocks. They meant the pursuit of learning. The pursuit of improvement and excellence. In hard work is happiness.
Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free," Jefferson said, "expects what never was and never will be." And if the gap between the educated and the uneducated in America continues to grow as it is in our time, as fast as or faster than the gap between the rich and the poor, the gap between the educated and the uneducated is going to be of greater consequence and the more serious threat to our way of life. We must not, by any means, misunderstand that.
Read. Read every chance you get. Read to keep growing. Read history. Read poetry. Read for pure enjoyment. Read a book called Life on a Little Known Planet. It's about insects. It will make you feel better.
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Don't be afraid to ask the 'dumb' question, everyone else will be relieved you had the guts to ask!
The English language is an arsenal of weapons. If you are going to brandish them without checking to see whether or not they are loaded, you must expect to have them explode in your face from time to time.
Studying goes deeper than mere reading. There are surface nuggets to be gathered but the best of the gold is underneath, and it takes time and labor to secure it.
You have to know human behaviour β¦ And the quality of your writing is absolutely capped at your understanding of human behaviour. Youβll never write above what you know about people.
Because of reality television and all these celebrities thinking they can be designers, everyone imagines that they can just become a designer, photographer, or model, but that's not the way things work. People have to go to school, learn their craft, and build a brand - that's the right, healthy way to do things.
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