My earnestness at the injustices I witnessed when I was writing 'Random Family' may have been my gravest reportorial offense during the early years of reporting. When I discuss the book with students, they often ask me how I could 'stand by' in the face of so much suffering; the egregiousness wasn't my powerlessness but my surprise.
If we get you in the early years of your life and we fill your head with all of the Catholic stories, then it's very hard for you to stop being Catholic. Catholics are Catholics because they like being Catholic.
My career, definitely, the early years were a little scattershot, in terms of - it was a little regional theater, it was a lot of voiceovers, it was a lot of random day jobs. I mean, it was hard. It was hard to scrap around, and once 'Hairspray' happened, then it all kind of clicked into place.
Teachers say their schools of education did not adequately prepare them for the classroom. They would have welcomed more mentoring and feedback in their early years.
I'm a great believer that the most important years are the sort of early years but the preschool years and then into the first and second grades. If you get a good base in the first and second grade and you can read, you can do anything.
I've always known I could write. I have an ear for production and melody. It was just that, in those early years, I let everyone do it for me. To be honest, I was a little lazy!
When I think back to the early years of my career, I wish I would have been less tolerant of the norms of that time. Compared to today's generation, my generation didn't call attention to unfair practices like equal pay and promotion tracks as often.
I failed my exams and my driving test. I failed to get into the Foreign Office and drama school. The big F was dominant in my early years.
Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the age of five. If we don't begin thinking about education in the early years, our children are at risk of falling behind by the time they start Kindergarten.
Generational disinterest in education means that too many young children lack the push from their parents in early years which can make the difference between success and failure in schools.
