Adora Svitak

In many countries, schools are preparing students to participate in a democratic environment; yet schools themselves tend to be extremely autocratic, with all high-level decisions being made by adults.

My parents homeschooled my sister and me for many years. Why? Because the local school insisted that I, being three, should go to preschool, and my sister, being five, should go to kindergarten. The problem? You learn your alphabet in preschool, and I was already reading chapter books.

If I had my way, I'd end all wars and poverty. We should all be more aware of what's going on in the world around us and less ignorant.

I was thrilled to be able to read at three. I just thought everyone loved reading as much as I did.

The idea there were kids out there who didn't love to read and write just as much as I did struck me. So I went around schools and tried to make other kids love to read and write.

As children, we have a tenuous idea of love; we often try to quantify it with how much we feel seen and heard.

We all love people who give credit to others for their success. Companies would probably do better with CEOs who didn't blow their own horn and ask for ridiculous salaries and new yachts every year.

The fact that a baby can be born today and condemned to a life of hardship, struggle, and discrimination simply because of sex is enraging.

Make sure that your kids or the kids in your life have an opportunity to share their ideas, and to teach you something about what we know.

I need to be allowed to make my own decisions and mistakes, take leaps - and fall - without receiving too much help, because it's what I'll be doing for the rest of my life.

Any good teacher knows how important it is to connect with students and understand our culture.

The traits the word 'childish' addresses are seen so often in adults that we should abolish this age-discriminatory word when it comes to criticizing behavior associated with irresponsibility and irrational thinking.