Standards are always out of date. That's what makes them standards.
Alan BennettRead
To begin with, it's true, she read with trepidation and some unease. The sheer endlessness of books outfaced her and she had no idea how to go on; there was no system to her reading, with one book leading to another, and often she had two or three on the go at the same time.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the overwhelming experience of navigating through a vast world of literature and the challenges that come with it.
In this quote, Alan Bennett captures the anxiety and trepidation one may feel when confronted with the infinite possibilities of reading. The mention of reading with unease signifies not just a lack of direction in her literary journey, but also the joy and chaos that come from simultaneously exploring multiple narratives, highlighting the rich yet daunting nature of literary exploration.
In practice
In a book club discussion about the joys and struggles of reading.
Standards are always out of date. That's what makes them standards.
A book is a device to ignite the imagination.
Those who have known the famous are publicly debriefed of their memories, knowing as their own dusk falls that they will only be remembered for remembering someone else.
To read is to withdraw.To make oneself unavailable. One would feel easier about it if the pursuit inself were less...selfish.
The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours
...she felt about reading what some writers felt about writing: that it was impossible not to do it and that at this late stage of her life she had been chosen to read as others were chosen to write.
As the growth mindset has become more popular and taken hold, we are beginning to find that there are pitfalls. Many educators misunderstand or misapply the concepts.
Teaching at best beckons us to morality, but it is not in itself efficacious. Teaching is like a mirror. It can show you if your face is dirty, but it the mirror will not wash your face.
The study of history is useful to the historian by teaching him his ignorance of women.
Education is an act of love, and thus an act of courage
I'm a professor - there should be some lessons learned - and how you can use the stuff you hear today to enable your dreams or enable the dreams of others. And as you get older you may find that enabling-the-dreams-of-others thing is even more fun.
Surely education has no meaning unless it helps you understand the vast experience of life with all its subtleties, with its extraordinary beauty, its sorrows and joys. You may earn degrees, you may have a series of letters after your name and land a good job, but then what? What is the point of it all if in the process your mind becomes dull, weary, stupid?
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