"Public education does not exist for the benefit of students or the benefit of their parents. It exists for the benefit of the social order.
We have discovered as a species that it is useful to have an educated population. You do not need to be a student or have a child who is a student to benefit from public education. Every second of every day of your life, you benefit from public education.
So let me explain why I like to pay taxes for schools, even though I don't personally have a kid in school: It's because I don't like living in a country with a bunch of stupid people." John Green
He says it precisely as it is.
"History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders." Edna O'Brien
And they often know a lot better what really happened.
"Time has become quite flexible inside the library. (This is true of most places with interesting books. Sit down to read for twenty minutes, and suddenly it’s dark, with no clue as to where the hours have gone.)" Jonathan Strahan
Haven't we all been there?
Friday 24 June 2022
Book Quotes of the Week
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The John Green comment is spot on. I don't have any kids - in school or not - but have zero problems with paying taxes for them. An uneducated population elects bad politicians and we all know where that can lead! Better education and more knowledge out there is a good start to addressing most of the worlds problems right now.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. We all pay for things we don't use personally but it's for the greater good. Education is for all of us. As John Green so truly points out, if we don't make it free for everyone, we live in a country full of dumb people. There will always be some who will not take advantage of that but that's their own fault.
DeleteIn any case, smart people will always want an educated population around them. I've had lots of discussions with Americans who rather pay an arm and a leg for the education of their own children than taxes for the education of "other people's kids". The same with health insurance. 🙄 I'm glad I don't have to live there.
Hi there Marianne,
ReplyDeleteOh as a teacher I can go on and on and on....!!
I love all the quotes and used to have a Wednesday Wisdom post with bookish quotes. I need to start with that again!
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Elza Reads
Thanks, Mareli and Elza,
DeleteI can imagine. I haven't been a teacher but I have two sons and helped a lot in school.
That would be a good idea to start "Wednesday Wisdom" again. I've done my book quotes on a Friday fore ages, long before we had any alliterations to our frequent titles. And now I do "Wordless Wednesday" from time to time.
But it's always fun to see what others posted.
I love that quote about time being flexible in a library. Although just the act of reading always seems to make time go by faster for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Lark. Plus, we can move in time which, no matter how much science-fictionist would like to, will never be possible.
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