"Most teachers have little control over school policy or curriculum or choice of texts or special placement of students, but most have a great deal of autonomy inside the classroom. To a degree shared by only a few other occupations, such as police work, public education rests precariously on the skill and virtue of the people at the bottom of the institutional pyramid."

19 likes

Source: Tracy Kidder (1989). “Among School Children”, p.59, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

About the author

Tracy Kidder

Author

Tracy Kidder is an acclaimed American author known for his narrative nonfiction, particularly 'Mountains Beyond Mountains,' which explores global health and social justice.

All quotes by Tracy Kidder →

Same author

More quotes by Tracy Kidder

See all →
Tracy Kidder Author

"The hardest thing was learning to write. I was 13, and the only writing I had done was for Social Studies. It consisted of copying passages right out of the encyclopedia"

Read quote
Tracy Kidder Author

"In the early days, computers inspired widespread awe and the popular press dubbed them giant brains. In fact, the computer's power resembled that of a bulldozer; it did not harness subtlety, though subtlety went into its design."

Read quote
Tracy Kidder Author

"How could a just God permit great misery? The Haitian peasants answered with a proverb: "Bondye konn bay, men li pa konn separe," in literal translation, "God gives but doesn't share." This meant... God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he's not the one who's supposed to divvy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us."

Read quote