In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.
Sugata MitraRead
The first object of any act of learning, over and beyond the pleasure it may give, is that it should serve us in the future. Learning should not only take us somewhere; it should allow us later to go further more easily.
Interpretation
Learning should provide practical benefits for the future, not just be pleasurable.
This quote emphasizes that the primary purpose of learning is to prepare individuals for future challenges and opportunities. It suggests that while the joy of learning is important, the ultimate goal should be to equip oneself with knowledge and skills that facilitate easier and more effective progress in life.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students about the value of their education.
In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.
Education isn't something you can finish
What can the schools do to defend democracy? Should they preach a specific political doctrine? I believe they should not. If they are able to teach young people to have a critical mind and a socially oriented attitude, they will have done all that is necessary.
Most people who decide to grow personally find their first mentors in the pages of books.
It's not that our high school system was not designed well, but that it was designed in 1906 when the country was just out of the industrial era. There hasn't been a substantial systemic change the way we do high school since then.
But in the new (math) approach, the important thing is to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer.
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