It makes little sense to spend a month teaching decimal fractions to fourth-grade pupils when they can be taught in a week, and be...tter understood and retained, by sixth-grade students. Child-centeredness does not mean lack of rigor or standards; it does mean finding the best match between curricula and children's developing interests and abilities.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Hail wedded love, mysterious law, true source Of human offspring, sole propriety,... In paradise of all things common else. By thee adulterous lust was driven from men Among the bestial herds to range, by thee Founded in reason, loyal, just, and pure, Relations dear, and all the charities Of father, son, and brother first were known. Far be it, that I should write thee sin or blame, Of think thee unbefitting holiest place, Perpetual fountain of domestic sweets, Whose bed is undefiled and chaste pronounced, Present, or past, as saints and patriarchs used. Here love his golden shafts employs, here lights His constant lamp, and waves his purple wings, Reigns here and revels; not in the bought smile Of harlots, loveless, joyless, unendeared, Casual fruition, nor in court amours Mixed dance, or wanton mask, or midnight ball, Or serenade, which the starved lover sings To his proud fair, best quitted with disdain. These lulled by Nightingales embracing slept, And on their naked limbs the flowery roof Showered roses, which the morn repaired. Sleep on, Blest pair; and O yet happiest if ye seek No happier state, and know to know no more.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The command of comparisons that develops with age is, while no doubt good for the mind, somewhat numbing for the emotions. It is a... wonderful thing to be able to look at an Italian cathedral and recognize the classical influences upon its Gothic, but it is still more wonderful to look at it altogether unaware, altogether open to its fascination. Literature is more thrilling before critical relativity arises; the worst of wine, in the early years of one's life, is better than the best toward the end; and as to your first love, earnestly though you may deny it to later partners and even to yourself, nothing will ever match its ecstasy, laced as it is likely to have been with reckless innocence.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Teams move in patterns, in rhythms, at high velocity; one must watch the game abstractly, not focusing on any single individual al...one, but upon, as it were, the blurred and intricate designs woven by the paths through which all five together cast a spell upon the opposition. The eye watches five men at once, delighting in their unity, groaning at their lapses of concentration. Yet basketball moves so rapidly and so depends on the versatility of each individual in escaping from the defense intended to contain him that the game cannot be choreographed in advance. Twelve men are constantly in movement (counting two referees), the rebounds of the ball are unpredictable, the occasions for passing or dribbling, or shooting must be decided instantaneously; basketball players must be improvisers. They have a score, a melody; each team has its own appropriate tempo, a style of the game best suited to its talents; but within and around that general score, each individual is free to elaborate as the spirit moves him. Basketball is jazz: improvisatory, free, individualistic, corporate, sweaty, fast, exulting, screeching, torrid, explosive, exquisitely designed for letting first the trumpet, then the sax, then the drummer, then the trombonist soar away in virtuoso excellence.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
They who have considered our nature, affirm that shame and disgrace are two of the most insupportable evils of human life: the cou...rage and spirits of many have master'd other misfortunes and borne themselves up against them; but the wisest and best of souls have not been a match for these.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave, There are souls that are pure and true;... Then give to the world the best you have, And the best will come back to you.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
Sometimes I have a notion that what might improve the situation is to have women take over the occupations of government and trade... and to give men their freedom. Let them do what they are best at. While we scrawl interoffice memos and direct national or extranational affairs, men could spend all their time inventing wheels, peering at stars, composing poems, carving statues, exploring continents--discovering, reforming, or crying out in a sacramental wilderness. Efficiency would probably increase, and no one would have to worry so much about the Gaza Strip or an election.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
I know some of my self-worth comes from tennis, and it's hard to think of doing something else where you know you'll never be the ...best. Tennis players are rare creatures: where else in the world can you know that you're the best? The definitiveness of it is the beauty of it, but it's not all there is to life and I'm ready to explore the alternatives.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »