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I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place
Howard Gardner
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of understanding the world not only for curiosity but for the purpose of making positive changes.

Howard Gardner's quote highlights the dual purpose of education: to cultivate curiosity about the world and to empower individuals, particularly children, to contribute meaningfully to society. He advocates for an education that goes beyond mere fascination with the human experience, urging a deeper understanding that equips future generations to improve the world around them.

Themes

EducationUnderstandingChildrenBetter WorldCuriosity

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be shared during a school assembly to inspire students about the importance of learning.

More from Howard Gardner

Anything that is worth teaching can be presented in many different ways. These multiple ways can make use of our multiple intelligences.
Howard GardnerRead
What we want... is for students to get more interested in things, more involved in them, more engaged in wanting to know; to have projects that they can get excited about and work on over long periods of time, to be stimulated to find things out on their own.
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If Confucius can serve as the Patron Saint of Chinese education, let me propose Socrates as his equivalent in a Western educational context - a Socrates who is never content with the initial superficial response, but is always probing for finer distinctions, clearer examples, a more profound form of knowing. Our concept of knowledge has changed since classical times, but Socrates has provided us with a timeless educational goal - ever deeper understanding.
Howard GardnerRead
But once we realize that people have very different kinds of minds, different kinds of strengths -- some people are good in thinking spatially, some in thinking language, others are very logical, other people need to be hands on and explore actively and try things out -- then education, which treats everybody the same way, is actually the most unfair education.
Howard GardnerRead
We've got to do fewer things in school. The greatest enemy of understanding is coverage... You've got to take enough time to get kids deeply involved in something so they can think about it in lots of different ways and apply it.
Howard GardnerRead
The countries who do the best in international comparisons, whether it's Finland or Japan, Denmark or Singapore, do well because they have professional teachers who are respected, and they also have family and community which support learning.
Howard GardnerRead

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