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From my first year on the faculty, there was always so much more I wanted to impart to the students. I decided that, rather than waste the last day of class summarizing the semester, I'd spend my time talking about what I'd learned in life that was useful.
Clayton M. Christensen
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of sharing life lessons rather than merely summarizing academic content.

In this quote, Clayton M. Christensen reflects on the value of imparting practical life lessons to students instead of adhering strictly to the syllabus on the last day of class. He suggests that the experiences and insights gained from life can be more beneficial for students' personal growth and future endeavors than a mere recap of the academic material covered. This approach fosters a deeper connection and a more meaningful educational experience.

Themes

EducationLife LessonsTeachingStudentsMeaningfulGrowth

In practice

Example use cases

During a graduation speech, a professor might use this quote to inspire students to seek wisdom beyond textbooks.

More from Clayton M. Christensen

There is no single right answer or path forward, but there is one right way to frame the problem.
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Understanding motivation is one of the most important things we can do in our lives, because it has such a bearing on why we do the things we do and whether we enjoy them or not.
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Companies, in fact, are specifically organized to under-invest in disruptive innovations! This is one reason why we often suggest that companies set up separate teams or groups to commercialize disruptive innovations. When disruptive innovations have to fight with other innovations for resources, they tend to lose out.
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There is no evidence that success in business will make us happy people or allow us to have happy families.
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By definition, big data cannot yield complicated descriptions of causality. Especially in healthcare. Almost all of our diseases occur in the intersections of systems in the body.
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The breakthrough innovations come when the tension is greatest and the resources are most limited. That's when people are actually a lot more open to rethinking the fundamental way they do business.
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Quote by Clayton M. Christensen | QuoteProject