One of our worst traits in journalism is that when we have a narrative in our minds, we often plug in anecdotes that confirm it. Thus we managed to portray President Gerald Ford, a first-rate athlete, as a klutz.
Young people often aren't in a position to write checks to charities. But there are two things they can do that are invaluable. One is volunteering, especially mentoring other young people with reading, math or help thinking about college. Through iMentor, one can even mentor people online.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Young people can contribute to society by volunteering, especially through mentorship, even if they cannot provide financial support.
This quote emphasizes that while young individuals may lack the financial resources to donate to charities, they can still make a significant impact through volunteering and mentoring. By engaging in activities like tutoring others in subjects such as reading and math, or providing guidance about educational opportunities, they contribute valuable support to their peers, harnessing their experiences and knowledge to uplift others, thereby fulfilling a critical role in their community.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at a school event, a teacher might highlight how students can make a difference through mentoring.
More from Nicholas Kristof
All quotes →A basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.
Worrying about bills, food, or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax.
Most moms and dads, they want to be good moms and dads. But it's an incredibly hard job when you are stressed out, when you are poor, when your life is in chaos. And giving them some of the tools to be better parents, to whittle away at that parenting gap, gives those kids a much better starting point in life.
Since the end of the 1970s, something has gone profoundly wrong in America. Inequality has soared. Educational progress slowed. Incarceration rates quintupled. Family breakdown accelerated. Median household income stagnated.
The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing.
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I went away in my head, into a book. That was where I went whenever real life was too hard or too inflexible.
A book has but one voice, but it does not instruct everyone alike.
Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
When you read a piece of writing that you admire, send a note of thanks to the author.
Books should be right up there with exercise and diet as something that don't just entertain us but heal us. They tell us we are not alone and fix the pieces of us that can be shattered by reality. They are teachers, and they are friends, and we should never contemplate a world - or a life - without them.
The giving of love and understanding is an education in itself.