Instead of encouraging the student to devote himself to his studies for the sake of studying, instead of encouraging in him a real love for his subject and for inquiry, he is encouraged to study for the sake of his personal career; he is led to acquire only such knowledge as is serviceable in getting him over the hurdles which he must clear for the sake of his advancement.
Interpretation
The quote critiques a focus on studying solely for career advancement rather than cultivating a genuine love for learning.
Karl Popper emphasizes the detrimental trend in education where students are motivated to study not out of a love for knowledge or inquiry, but rather as a means to achieve personal success. This approach reduces the value of learning to a transactional process, where knowledge is only acquired if it serves an immediate practical purpose, undermining the deeper joy and curiosity that education should inspire.
In practice
In a seminar discussing educational philosophies, this quote could emphasize the importance of intrinsic motivation for students.
The growth of our knowledge is the result of a process closely resembling what Darwin called 'natural selection'; that is, the natural selection of hypotheses: our knowledge consists, at every moment, of those hypotheses which have shown their (comparative) fitness by surviving so far in their struggle for existence, a competitive struggle which eliminates those hypotheses which are unfit.
If you can't say it simply and clearly, keep quiet, and keep working on it till you can.
No particular theory may ever be regarded as absolutely certain.... No scientific theory is sacrosanct.
The belief in a political Utopia is especially dangerous. This is possibly connected with the fact that the search for a better world, like the investigation of our environment, is (if I am correct) one of the oldest and most important of all the instincts.
A rationalist is simply someone for whom it is more important to learn than to be proved right; someone who is willing to learn from others - not by simply taking over another's opinions, but by gladly allowing others to criticize his ideas and by gladly criticizing the ideas of others
Thus science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths; neither with the collection of observations, nor with the invention of experiments, but with the critical discussion of myths, and of magical techniques and practices.
I studied with Strasberg, Elia Kazan. They raised the bar. They weren't easy to please, and they made you achieve the best you could do. That's what a teacher does: he infuses you with passion for something.
Unfortunately, kids are led to believe things are easier to achieve than they really are.
It is healthier, in any case, to write for the adults one's children will become than for the children one's 'mature' critics often are.
When the average child is now spending nearly eight hours a day in front of some kind of screen, many of their opinions and preferences are being shaped by the marketing campaigns you all create. And thatβs where the problem comes in.. ... And Iβm here today with one simple request - and that is to do even more and move even faster to market responsibly to our kids.
We are storytelling creatures, and as children we acquire language to tell those stories that we have inside us.
One good schoolmaster is worth a thousand priests.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.