Inspirational Quotes on Education and Social Change

When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another. Helen Keller

No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There's too much work to do. Dorothy Day

Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. Cesar Chavez

Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other. Paolo Friere

The object of education is to prepare [people] to educate themselves throughout their lives. Robert Maynard Hutchins

The aspirations of democracy are based on the notion of an informed citizenry. . . . The new economy is predicated on a continuous pipeline of scientific and technological innovation. It cannot exist without workers and consumers who are mathematically and scientifically literate. Ann Druyan

The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand. Woodrow Wilson

For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. John F. Kennedy

The opportunity for brotherhood presents itself every time you meet another human being. Jane Wyman

Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. Jiddu Krishnamurti

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. R. Buckminster Fuller

If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other. Carl Schurz

You better live your best and act your best and think your best today, for today is the sure preparation for tomorrow and all the other tomorrows that follow. Harriet Martineau

Whether one believes in religion or not. . .there isn t anyone who doesn t appreciate kindness and compassion. . . .We must build closer relationships of mutual trust, understanding, respect, and help, irrespective of differences of culture, philosophy, religion, or faith. The Dalai Lama

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. Pearl Buck

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau

Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without it we can't practice any other virtue with consistency. Maya Angelou

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that is a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life. Chris Evert

The future of [humankind] lies waiting for those who will come to understand their lives and take up their responsibilities to all living things. Vine Deloria, Jr.

If you want to build a ship, dont drum up people together to collect wood and don t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. Antoine de Saint-Exup ry

A teacher affects eternity. He [or she] can never tell where his [or her] influence stops. Henry Adams

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark. Agnes de Mille

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. Albert Einstein

There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. James Truslow Adams

I want to make sure we use all our talent, not just 25 percent. Mae Jemison

In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer

To acknowledge privilege is the first step in making it available for wider use. Each of us is blessed in some particular way, whether we recognize our blessings or not. Audre Lorde

If we teach todays students as we taught yesterday s, we rob them of tomorrow. John Dewey

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. . . .indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Meade

The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action. John Dewey

Love is loyalty. Love is teamwork. Love respects the dignity of the individual. Heartpower is the strength of your [organization]. Vince Lombardi

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up. Anne Lamott

Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think. Robert M. Hutchins

You have to recognize when the right place and the right time fuse, and take advantage of that opportunity. There are plenty of opportunities out there. You can't sit back and wait. Ellen Metcalf

Power. . .is the ability to achieve purpose. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other. Paolo Friere

I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities. Whoopi Goldberg

The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. Emile Zola

You can have data without information, but you can t have information without data. Daniel Keys Moran

I am never afraid of what I know. Anna Sewell

A goal without a method is cruel. W. Edwards Deming

The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you on to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth. Dan Rather

Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace. Confucius

Education is one thing no one can take away from you. Elin Nordegren

A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential. Audrey Hepburn

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand. Woodrow Wilson

An optimist is the human personification of spring. Susan J. Bissonette

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today. Malcolm X