71 Quotes by William Bennett

The formation of character in young people is educationally a different task from, and a prior task to, the discussion of the great, difficult, ethical controversies of the day. First things first. And planting the ideas of virtue, of good traits in the young, comes first. In the moral life, as in life itself, we take one step at a time. Every field has its complexities and controversies. And so does ethics. And every field has its basics. So too with values.

America's support for human rights and democracy is our noblest export to the world.

Now we have reason to be grateful once again that Al Gore is not the man in the White House, and never will be.

Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty.

It is our character that supports the promise of our future - far more than particular government programs or policies.

The elementary school must assume as its sublime and most solemn responsibility the task of teaching every child in it to read. Any school that does not accomplish this has failed.

Our common language is English. And our common task is to ensure that our non-English-speaking children learn this common language.

There are no mental jobs, only mental attitudes.

I don't think people have the right to be angry, if they look at the whole thing. But if they get a selective part of my comment, I can see why they would be angry. If somebody thought I was advocating that, they ought to be angry. I would be angry.