Others Quoting Dr. Massie
"My biggest contribution has been that I'm a good chemistry
teacher. God's given me the gift of helping people understand."
(from "The Gift of Helping People Understand", Navy
Times, August 1991)
On the first day of class: "I won't try to make a fool
out of you because God beat me to it." To put students at
ease: "My wife calls me her FBI man: Fat, Black, and Intelligent."
(from "Academy Professor Provides his Plebes Lessons of a
Lifetime," Baltimore Sun, June 1991)
"All of my students began with an 'A'. Some students would
say, 'Dr. Massie, you're crazy. I have never had an 'A' in Chemistry
in my life. Why would you give me an 'A'? I always told them,
'Because I'm going to treat you and expect you to handle it like
an 'A' student. 'A' students do harder work. 'A' students come
to class. 'A' students react to different things.' Now, they didn't
all appreciate it, but at least for the moment they believed it.
And I believed that they were capable of making an 'A'. People
will do what you expect them to do, I've learned that." (from
speech "Where Do We Go from Here
," delivered by Dr. Massie before The Economic Club of Detroit,
January 16, 1990)
"Many people, and some of them are teachers, who unconsciously
make science and mathematics too difficult, feel that science
and mathematics are not for the common student. They are wrong.
The depth of use may vary, but the principles remain understandable
to all of us." (from "Science and Mathematics in the
21st Century")
"You should live so that when you die even the undertaker
will cry." (from speech "Where
Do We Go from Here," delivered by Dr. Massie before The
Economic Club of Detroit, January 16, 1990)
"I'd like to be remembered as a teacher who cared, as
a man who tries to make a difference." (from "Brains
+ Passion = Naval Academy's First Black Professor," Laurel
Leader, July 1, 1993)
"Be a part of the solution, not the problem." (from
the speech "The Flight of the Bumblebee)"
"You've never failed until you try for the last time,
and you've never lost until you quit." (charge to Beaumont
students)
"Affirmative action can only get you in the door. It won't
keep you there. You have to do that yourself." (from "Traveling
Navy Prof. Inspires Blacks", The Capital, April 3, 1985)
On teaching a different kind of three R's: "I teach the
[students] that they need reason to collect and use facts. They
also need to respect everyone, from the admiral to the janitor.
And they need responsibility - because it's no small coincidence
that the captain must go down with his ship." (from "Massie
honored for Lifetime Dedication to Teaching," Trident, May
14, 1993)
"I always tell my students, you find what you're looking
for. Don't go looking for wrong." (from "Return of Montel
Williams," The Capital, April 30, 1993)
Ten Pointers for Successful Living in a Multi-Ethnic Society
(from "The Flight of the Bumblebee,"
an Honors Day convocational address given at St. Paul's College,
Lawrenceville, Virginia)