A Quote by John Taylor Gatto

One of the first things a family tries to teach its children is the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. One of the first things our schools do is destroy that distinction.

John Taylor Gatto

Quote Topics

Between Children Destroy Difference Distinction Evil Family First First Thing First Things Good Good And Evil Our Right Right And Wrong Schools Teach The First Thing Things Tries Wrong

Quote Author

John Taylor Gatto
American - Educator
Born: December 15, 1935

The future success of our Nation depends on our children's ability to understand the difference between right and wrong and to have the strength of character to make the right choices. To help them reach their full potential and live with integrity and pride, we must teach our children to be kind, responsible, honest, and self-disciplined. These important values are first learned in the family, but all of our citizens have an obligation to support parents in the character education of our children

George W. Bush

There are many kids who are greedy or don't appreciate things or take things for granted but it's not their fault. It's the parents who have to show and teach them the difference between right and wrong.

Hiten Tejwani

Our human situation no longer permits us to make armed dichotomies between those who are good and those who are evil, those who are right and those who are wrong. The first blow dealt to the enemy's children will sign the death warrant of our own.

Margaret Mead

Education is not complete unless we teach our children not only how to read and write but the difference between right and wrong.

George H. W. Bush

I know one thing you don't. I know the difference between Right and Wrong. They didn't teach you that at school.' Rose didn't answer; the woman was quite right: the two words meant nothing to her. Their taste was extinguished by stronger foods--Good and Evil.

Graham Greene

Tolerance obviously does not disturb the distinction between right and wrong, or good and evil.

Mahatma Gandhi

Children are people, and they should have to reach to learn about things, to understand things, just as adults have to reach if they want to grow in mental stature. Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil.

Walt Disney

A person of character knows the difference between right and wrong and always tries to do the right thing for the right reason.

Michael Josephson

The first idea the child must acquire is that of the difference between good and evil.

Maria Montessori

Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either.

Marshall McLuhan

... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth. Above its grave a tombstone read, "Be tolerant--even of evil." Logically the next step would be to say to our commonwealth's criminals, "I disagree that it's all right to rob and murder, but naturally I respect your opinion." Tolerance is only complacence when it makes no distinction between right and wrong.

Sarah-Patton Boyle

Sufis teach that we first must battle and destroy the evil within ourselves by shining upon it the good within, and then we learn to battle the evil in others by helping their higher selves gain control of their lower selves.

Feisal Abdul Rauf

The first idea that the child must acquire, in order to be actively disciplined, is that of the difference between good and evil.

Maria Montessori

The darkness that we see in our world today is due to the disintegration of things out of harmony with God's laws. The basic conflict is not between nations, it is between two opposing beliefs. The first is that evil can be overcome by more evil, that the end justifies the means. This belief is very prevalent in our world today. It is the war way. It is the official position of every major nation.

Peace Pilgrim

During the long drag of years before our youngest child went to school, my love for my family and my need to write were in acute conflict. The problem was really that I put two things first. My husband and children came first. So did my writing. Bump.