Much of what we know about nuclear energy can be applied to education:

  1. In normal times, it’s enough to tap into a student’s external energy. But in our times, as we approach a new era, we need to tap into the innermost, nuclear powers of the heart, mind and soul.
  2. Real change comes from within. The job of a teacher is only to trigger from time to time a chain reaction of growth and learning.
  3. The greatest challenge of harnessing nuclear energy: Once you start a nuclear chain reaction, you must stand by and moderate, so that the energy goes in the right direction. So too, a teacher’s connection to a student never ends.
  4. Nuclear reactors must pay back many times the investment. So too, every student pays back many times that which they have been given.
Paraphrase of a letter to Julius Stulman, dated October 11, 1948.