I am not impressed by the Ivy League establishments. Of course they graduate the best -- it's all they'll take, leaving to others the problem of educating the country. They will give you an education the way the banks will give you money -- provided you can prove to their satisfaction that you don't need it.
Interpretation
The quote criticizes elite educational institutions for being exclusive and not truly contributing to broader education.
Peter De Vries critiques Ivy League schools for their exclusivity and the way they select students, implying that they cater only to those who are already privileged and do not address the education needs of the wider population. He compares their education not to a generous offering but to a restrictive banking service, accessible only to those who can demonstrate their independence from its support.
In practice
Sharing this quote at a graduation speech to inspire critical thinking about education systems.
We must love one another, yes, yes, that's all true enough, but nothing says we have to like each other. It may be the very recognition of all men as our brothers that accounts for the sibling rivalry, and even enmity, we have toward so many of them.
There are times when parenthood seems nothing more than feeding the hand that bites you.
The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe.
Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults.
Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff - it is a palliative rather than a remedy.
The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults.
This is the treasure we need today - helping the child become independent of us and make his way by himself, receiving in return his gifts of hope and light.
But because we've all been readers, we know what the experience is like, and we hope that what certain writers have given to us, we will give to someone.
Education in Chess has to be an education in independent thinking and judging. Chess must not be memorized.
No adult can bear a child’s burden or grow up in his stead.
I went through withdrawal when I got out of graduate school. It's what you learn, what you think. That's all that counts.
Let's face it: Most of us don't realize it, but we are failing our kids as reading role models. The best role models are in the home: brothers, fathers, grandfathers; mothers, sisters, grandmothers. Moms and dads, it's important that your kids see you reading. Not just books - reading the newspaper is good, too.
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