This is the third in a series of quotations from Bertrand Russell that I thought were pretty interesting:

It is because modern education is so seldom inspired by a great hope that it so seldom achieves great results. The wish to preserve the past rather that the hope of creating the future dominates the minds of those who control the teaching of the young.

~Bertrand Russell

I initially found this offensive, at least until I started thinking about the days when as a teacher, I forget exactly why I’m teaching my students. I’ve taken to reciting this quotation to myself as I prep every class I teach and find that it is keeping me focused on who I’m teaching rather than what I am teaching.