I imagine a school system that recognizes learning is natural, that a love of learning is normal, and that real learning is passionate learning. A school curriculum that values questions above answers...creativity above fact regurgitation...individuality above conformity.. and excellence above standardized performance..... And we must reject all notions of 'reform' that serve up more of the same: more testing, more 'standards', more uniformity, more conformity, more bureaucracy.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of a natural and passionate approach to learning over standardized testing and conformity.
Tom Peters advocates for an educational system that nurtures a genuine love for learning and values creativity and individuality over rigid standards and conformity. He criticizes traditional reform efforts that merely perpetuate existing flaws in the system, suggesting that true learning thrives in environments that encourage curiosity, passion, and personal expression rather than bureaucratic uniformity.
In practice
In a discussion about educational reform, one could quote this to emphasize the need for innovative approaches to teaching.
My half-baked reading of history is that we continue to go through these waves of entrepreneurial explosion followed by merger mania and consolidation. Out of that come big sluggish companies that eventually collapse under the weight of what they've created, and are killed off by the next wave of entrepreneurs.
The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity.
Nearly 100% of innovation-from business to politics-is inspired not by "market analysis" but by people who are supremely pissed off by the way things are.
Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.
The little people will get even, which is one of a thousand reasons why they are not little people at all. If you're a jerk as a leader, you will be torpedoed. And usually it won't be by your vice presidents; it will be on the loading dock at 3am when no supervisors are around.
Champions are pioneers, and pioneers get shot at. The companies that get the most from champions, therefore, are those that have rich support network so their pioneers will flourish. This point is so important it's hard to overstress. No support systems, no champions. No champions, no innovations.
I went to college because I didn't have anywhere else to go and it was a fabulous hang. And while I was there I was exposed to this world that I didn't know was possible.
I work on the assumption, or let it be the fear, that the reader will stop reading if I stop being interesting.
Seldom ever was any knowledge given to keep, but to impart; the grace of this rich jewel is lost in concealment.
Negative gender stereotypes related to girls' education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics begin as early as primary school and have the devastating effect of making them doubt their own potential.
Math education has changed over the years. In the 19th century, they taught spherical trigonometry because one of the biggest applications of mathematics was navigating the ocean. This is no longer so relevant.
Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.
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