Motivational Quotes

This section will be an ongoing section for inspirational/motivational quotes by individuals in the Early Childhood field.

From the individuals we researched this week, my favorite quotes are:

1. Edward Zigler:

"I am basically an academic, not an advocate for children. I have done hundreds of studies on children. When I was being socialized as a scholar, I learned the way this game was played: You formulated the query; you developed hypotheses from it; you tested those hypotheses in rigorous studies; then you reported your findings in good journals, and about 300 of your colleagues read your report. If you did enough of this and were successful at it, you were promoted and given tenure. And that was your life. I rebelled against this at a fairly early age. I thought, our subjects in all these studies are children. They are our partners in this learning enterprise, and we have a special responsibility to use this knowledge — not to fill up journals, but to make the lives of these children better. And that's what I have done with my life."

2. Janet Gonzalez-Mena:

"In the face of different perspectives, it isn't the answer of what to do or the resolution of the problem, but the perspectives themselves that are important."

From the individuals in the video two weeks ago:

1. Louise Derman-Sparks:

“I think my passion now is really the same as it was [when I started] because children are…learning very early that there are power issues and that there [are] some identities that give you more social power than others. I think they’re damaged when they get the positive message that they’re better than others simply because of their skin power or because of their economic class or because of their gender. And I hate the waste. It doesn’t allow children to grow up to their fullest potential and their fullest ability.”

2.Raymond Hernandez MS Ed:

“I think my passion comes from wanting to make a difference. I think, like I’ve said before and I truly believe, that I’m not here to save the world. I’m here just to make a difference in the community that I’m working. And to me, making a difference may sometimes mean helping one child be able to be successful in the classroom. You know, for me that one little sparkle will make a difference for me throughout the whole day.”