Richard Mitchell
Richard Mitchell
Dr. Richard Mitchellwas a professor, first of English and later of classics, at Glassboro State College in Glassboro, New Jersey. He gained fame in the late 1970s as the founder and publisher of The Underground Grammarian, a newsletter of opinion and criticism that ran until 1992, and wrote four books expounding his views on the relationships among language, education, and ethics...
ProfessionTrumpet Player
Date of Birth13 March 1930
exercise thinking mind
Some minds, at some point, discover that they can not make sense of their own predications without attention to grammar, although they do not ordinarily think of what they are doing as an exercise in grammar.
children emotional government
The feelings, sentiments, values and responses of our children, or of any citizen, are none of the government's damned business. That we must support a government agency that gives itself to the emotional and ideological manipulation of citizens is infamous.
long facts birth-control
Thought control, like birth control, is best undertaken as long as possible before the fact.
children mind littles
If you should prefer to understand that children are those human beings who have not yet found the grasp of their own minds, then the task you have given yourself, that task of rearing a child wisely and well, is suddenly transformed from indoctrination to education, in its truest sense, and made not only possible but even likely--provided, to be sure, one little prerequisite, which is that you are not a child, that you have come into the grasp of your mind.
important benefits language
Clear language engenders clear thought, and clear thought is the most important benefit of education.
silly thinking choices
If you cannot be the master of your language, you must be its slave. If you cannot examine your thoughts, you have no choice but to think them, however silly they may be.
children clever writing
An education that does not teach clear, coherent writing cannot provide our world with thoughtful adults; it gives us instead, at the best, clever children of all ages.
men fellow-man speak
Who speaks reason to his fellow man bestows it upon them.
judging mind way
There is no other way to judge the work of a mind except through its words.
society way vegetarian
You can shoot the tiger, or stay out of his way, but you cannot pronounce him a vegetarian.
journey limits reason
Education, I am convinced, must be nothing more than this: The journey toward the limits of Reason, if any there be.
ignorance laughing special
Educationists are entertaining. We can always find a good laugh in their prose, with its special, ludicrous combination of ignorance and pretentiousness.
writing brain mind
A mind can be overthrown by words; that's the point. What is happening to the brain of a person who uses the passive, who writes, 'Delay should not be allowed to take place' instead of 'Hurry'? The user of the passive verb doesn't want a universe in which responsible agents do their acts. You see? Bad language ultimately is IMMORAL.
school land want
If you want to predict the future of our land, go to school and look around.