"It’s a lot more likely for one of the participants to not show up because they’ve got to go to Footlocker and buy a new pair of kicks! That’s a lot more realistic, and more common for that to be the reason."

"So I think that is, if you get there, if you get to the point where kids are reading because they want to, not because they're made to, if they have curiosity not because they're made to look into things but because they want to, the battles won."

"See this is where we get to my own philosophy perhaps not being completely in touch with the received wisdom. I would like to think that the school system is based on education, but at heart I think it's more of a socialization process. "

"When I think about what’s going on in Toronto and the high homicide rates, I’m wondering how people are driving to such acts of violence. I see how my program fits into that picture. It is an investment of people, and if people start caring about that, then that would be a good start, I guess."

"Our society is heavily based on reading, writing and arithmetic, and if you don’t fit into that kind of box, then you have a hard time feeling confident that you can. So, it’s important to start from the base, and that’s about confident, self-esteem, and self-empowerment."