Favorite Passages & Paragraphs

What are your favorite passages or paragraphs about education?

My journalism class focused on writing style this week, which got me thinking about what little  stylishness I've attempted in my own writing.  Not much, but there are a couple of efforts from Education Next that might qualify, including this description of Paul Vallas reflecting on his accomplishments in Chicago just after leaving there (Political Educator):

Self-assured and capable of torrential speech, Vallas only rarely admits to doubt or fault. "The job was easier than I thought it was going to be," Vallas recalls, walking briskly on a sunny weekday shortly before his appointment as Philadelphia schools CEO was announced. "The honeymoon never ended." 

How could you replicate that, even if you wanted to? As CEO of the Chicago schools, Vallas combined Rudy Giuliani's gruff exterior and stunning self-confidence with a Bill Clinton–like mastery of policy minutiae and John McCain's open door to a fawning, half-intimidated press. He held regular press conferences, called back reporters at all hours of the night, and spoke in commanding detail about specific schools and neighborhoods.

Some of the examples we discussed in class included Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Bobby Kennedy's speech about the killing of Martin Luther King.  Here are some favorites (not about education) from the other journalism students.   

So, what are your favorite passages or paragraphs about education?

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