About this quote

We easily forget that teaching kids the wrong things is worse than teaching them nothing at all. When we fill young minds with prejudice, outdated facts, or fear, we actively push them off course. Think about the children in your own life. Are you helping them see the world clearly, or are you passing down your own biases? It takes hard work to unlearn bad lessons, and some people never recover from them.

When to use it

• A father realizes his son is copying his habit of yelling at retail workers. He thinks, 'I need to change how I act around my kid before he grows up thinking it is okay to treat people like garbage.'
• A school board member debates cutting the science budget to fund a new stadium. She tells the board, 'If we stop teaching these kids basic critical thinking now, we are setting them up to fail.'
• A senior engineer watches a manager teach an intern to cut corners and hide software bugs. He tells the manager, 'You are teaching him terrible habits that will ruin his career before it even starts.'