James Heckman Quotations

Schools should look behind classroom doors and determine the factors that contribute to the kinds of interactions between teachers and students that promote student achievement.

My family life is a deep source of satisfaction.

Religion gives you a sense of certainty. It makes you feel that you have the right answers to really big questions and that youve grasped the truth.

We can change who we are. We can improve ourselves in various ways, and we can give ourselves possibilities.

Schooling after the second grade plays only a minor role in creating or reducing gaps.

Early investment in the lives of disadvantaged children will help reduce inequality, in both the short and the long run.

Cognitive and character skills work together as dynamic complements; they are inseparable. Skills beget skills. More motivated children learn more. Those who are more informed usually make wiser decisions.

Early intervention programs enrich adverse family environments. The largest effects of the early intervention programs are on noncognitive traits. Now, what do I mean by that? I mean perseverance, motivation, self-esteem, and hard work.

You have kids growing up in some of the worst circumstances financially, living in some of the worst ghettos, and they succeed. They succeed because an adult figure, typically a mother, maybe a grandmother, nourishes the kid, supports the kid, protects the kid, encourages the kid to succeed. It's as if the environment never happened.

The traditional story of economists has been to say education explains what the returns are to school. I say, 'Okay, that's fine, but what explains the education? How much is just a matter of my giving you a poor kid versus a rich kid?'