Maya Angelou

Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence – neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish – it is an imponderably valuable gift.

The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerance. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors, and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.

I believe we are still so innocent. The species are still so innocent that a person who is apt to be murdered believes that the murderer, just before he puts the final wrench on his throat, will have enough compassion to give him one sweet cup of water.

Hate has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet.

My life has been one great big joke, a dance that’s walked a song that’s spoke, I laugh so hard I almost choke when I think about myself.

We love and lose in China, we weep on England’s moors, and laugh and moan in Guinea, and thrive on Spanish shores. We seek success in Finland, are born and die in Maine. In minor ways we differ, in major we’re the same.

To educate the peasantry, three things are needed: schools, schools and schools.

Education – lifelong education for everyone – from toddlers to workers well advanced in their careers – is indeed an excellent investment for individuals and society as a whole.

Learn something new every day.

Community colleges are certainly one of America’s best-kept secrets.

An education obtained with money is worse than no education at all.

Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends.

Learning carries within itself certain dangers because out of necessity one has to learn from one’s enemies.

My one thing is I continue to be interested and want to be a student. I don’t want to be a master. When I’m learning something, I’m in my element.

Poorer students take out larger loans and will have to contribute more to the cost of higher education.

We believe, that is, you and I, that education is not an expense. We believe it is an investment.

Education is the key to opportunity in our society, and the equality of educational opportunity must be the birthright of every citizen.

Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.

Being a teacher is not what I do, it’s who I am.

One of the things that make community colleges so special is they do not pick and choose their students – they work with all students.

Higher education cannot be a luxury reserved just for a privileged few. It is an economic necessity for every family. And every family should be able to afford it.