When the scary subject of race is finally broached, kids want to talk and talk. It's very satisfying.
Ruby BridgesRead
I've seen schools in Detroit where the windows are broken, where there's no heat, and children are sitting with their coats on in class in the middle of a snowstorm. I've also seen schools in California with Olympic-sized swimming pools and cafeterias like five-star restaurants.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the stark disparities in educational resources between different regions.
Ruby Bridges emphasizes the inequalities in the education system by contrasting the poor conditions of schools in Detroit with the luxurious facilities found in California. This comparison illustrates the need for equal opportunities in education regardless of geographic location, shedding light on the systemic issues affecting children’s learning environments.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for educational reforms.
When the scary subject of race is finally broached, kids want to talk and talk. It's very satisfying.
I felt like there was something I needed to do - speaking to kids and sharing my story with them and helping them understand racism has no place in the minds and hearts of children.
Schools should be diverse if we are to get past racial differences.
Throughout my life, my prayers have actively sustained me - held me up, carried me through.
My message is really that racism has no place in the hearts and minds of our children.
I remember the first time seeing myself on TV, when my family was watching the documentary 'Eyes on the Prize' for the first time. There were pictures of people going up the school stairs, and Mom said, 'Oh, that's you!' I said, 'I can't believe this. This is important.'
Unfortunately, as a society, we do not teach our children that they need to tend carefully the garden of their minds. Without structure, censorship, or discipline, our thoughts run rampant on automatic. Because we have not learned how to more carefully manage what goes on inside our brains, we remain vulnerable to not only what other people think about us, but also to advertising and/or political manipulation.
The young writer should learn to spot them: words that at first glance seem freighted with delicious meaning, but that soon burst in the air, leaving nothing but a memory of bright sound.
Tuesday—we had school for the first time. Madame O’Malley had a moment of silence at the beginning of French class, a class that was always punctuated with long moments of silence, and then asked us how we were feeling. “Awful,” a girl said. “En français,” Madame O’Malley replied. “En français.
Anything that is worth teaching can be presented in many different ways. These multiple ways can make use of our multiple intelligences.
Learning will be cast into the mire and trodden down under the hoofs of a swinish multitude.
It is one of the aims of linguistics to define itself, to recognise what belongs within its domain. In those cases where it relies upon psychology, it will do so indirectly, remaining independent.
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