running with the big dogs

from Work Hard. Be Nice. by Jay Mathews:

One popular slogan irritated [Harriet Ball]: “All children can learn.” That was not the right message, she thought. It ought to be “All children will learn.” The word “can” was too passive. It meant the child was capable. That was not enough. There was a big difference between capability and achievement. Many educators thought it was up to their students and their parents to summon the motivation to use their God-given talents. Ball took her responsibilities more seriously. She brought this up every time she saw the slogan: “Uh-uh, I don’t want no ‘can,’” she said. “All of us will learn. I will learn from the kids. They will learn from me. Ain’t no ‘can.’ We will all learn.”
p.37