In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy.
Ivan IllichRead
School divides life into two segments, which are increasingly of comparable length. As much as anything else, schooling implies custodial care for persons who are declared undesirable elsewhere by the simple fact that a school has been built to serve them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the educational system by suggesting that schools separate life into academic and non-academic segments, which can perpetuate the idea of certain individuals being less desirable.
Ivan Illich's quote highlights the dichotomy created by schooling, positioning education as a mechanism that not only imparts knowledge but also segregates individuals based on societal perceptions of desirability. It underscores the notion that institutions, such as schools, often reinforce divisions among people, suggesting that those who cannot fit into traditional educational molds are seen as undesirable, thus emphasizing the need for a more inclusive approach to learning and personal development.
Themes
EducationSchoolingSocietyDesirabilityDivision
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the role of schools in society, this quote can highlight the need for reform.
More from Ivan Illich
All quotes →School is the advertising agency which makes you believe that you need the society as it is.
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School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this lesson is learned, people lose their incentive to grow in independence; they no longer find relatedness attractive, and close themselves off to the surprises which life offers when it is not predetermined by institutional definition.
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The pupil is ... 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new.
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The myth of unending consumption has taken the place of the belief in life everlasting.
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Effective health care depends on self-care; this fact is currently heralded as if it were a discovery.
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