What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
Schools and schoolmasters, as we have them today, are not popular as places of education and teachers, but rather prisons and turnkeys in which children are kept to prevent them disturbing and chaperoning their parent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the current education system, suggesting that schools act more as prisons than places of genuine learning.
George Bernard Shaw's quote highlights a critical perspective on the contemporary education system, arguing that rather than fostering true education and intellectual growth, schools often serve to control children and keep them occupied. This view suggests that the focus of education has shifted towards conformity and discipline rather than creativity and critical thinking, emphasizing the need for a reevaluation of how we approach teaching and learning.
Themes
EducationSchoolsLearningChildrenTeachersSystem
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion on the reform of educational systems during a parent-teacher meeting.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
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The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
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Similar quotes
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The wrong things are predominantly stressed in the schools - things remote from the student's experience and need.
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