“Teach a child to read and he/she will pass a literary test.”

“I personally regret the shift in literary study from reading primary texts to reading critical and theoretical texts. The major problem today among students is that they simply have not read enough literature. Consequently they do not have the necessary background to take a critical attitude towards literary theory. One needs to test every abstraction against experience.”

“She read and read and read, but she was stuffing herself with the letters on the page like an unhappy child stuffing itself with chocolate. They didn’t taste bad, but she was still unhappy.”

“They say the test of this [literary power] is whether a man can write an inscription. I say “Can he name a kitten?” And by this test I am condemned, for I cannot.”

“All you have to do to educate a child is leave him alone and teach him to read. The rest is brainwashing.”

“A literary academic can no more pass a bookstore than an alcoholic can pass a bar.”

“Don't tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend too much of a year preparing him to fill out a few bubbles on a standardized test; we know that's not true.”

“Let us prepare every child for the test of life, not just a life of tests.”

“Your mother waits, heart-weary, at the door.
Your child in hunger cries for its chewed rice.
I feed your mother, serving as her son,
and like a father teach your child to read.”

“The mother's first kiss teaches the child love; the first holy kiss of the woman he loves teaches man hope and faith in life.”