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.
Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with short steps.
Often the grind of book promotion wearies you of your own book - though at the same time this frees you from its clutches.
Educating the world's poorest girls can only be done with the firm commitment of many stakeholders - both domestic and international - to plan, fund, and build strong, sustainable, and equitable education systems.
Western parents worry a lot about their children's self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child's self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't.
When people lack teachers, their tendencies are not corrected; when they do not have ritual and moral principles, then their lawlessness is not controlled.
The best way is to read it all every day from the start, correcting as you go along, then go on from where you stopped the day before. When it gets so long that you can't do this every day read back two or three chapters each day; then each week read it all from the start. That's how you make it all of one piece.
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