I think people are curious at some level, and they want to alter their current state of being. I mean, that could be from curiosity, that could be from stress, that can be from some other sort of ailments or problem that they are experiencing or could just be from boredom, but humans have always attempted to alter their consciousness.

I had to go to England to really learn about American racism in a way that corroborated my reality. That was critical.

You have to be open-minded, and you have to be critical, and you have to let go of your predispositions about what you've been told that doesn't have foundations in evidence.

I went into the military because I didn't get a scholarship, a basketball scholarship I thought that I would get.

I think my books talk about kids learning to like and respect themselves and each other. You can't write a message book; you just tell the best story you know how to tell.

A sponge is a funny animal to center a show on. At first, I drew a few natural sponges - amorphous shapes, blobs - which was the correct thing to do biologically as a marine science teacher. Then I drew a square sponge, and it looked so funny.

Do I dare set forth here the most important, the most useful rule of all education? It is not to save time, but to squander it.

Universities have to tame their budgets, especially for student amenities that have nothing to do with education.