Ralph Waldo Emerson for Secretary of Education

    Sifting through my thoughts and scraps, I was searching for some ruminative quotes for my book (trick: it's not so much that I am shamelessly promoting my book, but rather creating external, undeniable motivators to wrestle this animal into form. give it a proper life), I stumbled onto Emerson's essay on education. Water for the soul. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, just read this:

To whatsoever upright mind, to whatsoever beating heart I speak, to you it is committed to educate men. By simple living, by an illimitable soul, you inspire, you correct, you instruct, you raise, you embellish all. By your own act you teach the behold how to do the practicable. According to the depth from which you draw your life, such is the depth not only of your strenuous effort, but of your manners and presence. The beautiful nature of the world has here blended your happiness with your power.  - Emerson

And on he goes to speak of Patience, not bludgeoning students with standardized tests, but letting their soul wind its course, of the teacher's role to guide, not superimpose. For Emerson explains, "nature loves analogies, but not repetitions."