Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.
Interpretation
Universities are vital institutions that should not be judged solely based on their practical benefits.
David Lodge's quote emphasizes the importance of universities as centers of knowledge and culture, akin to the cathedrals of the past. He argues that these institutions should not be forced to justify their value based on utilitarian metrics, such as job preparation or economic output, but rather be appreciated for their role in fostering critical thinking, creativity, and the pursuit of knowledge.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech at a graduation ceremony to highlight the importance of education.
to read is to surrender oneself to an endless displacement of curiosity and desire from one sentence to another, from one action to another, from one level of a text to another. The text unveils itself before us, but never allows itself to be possessed; and instead of trying to possess it we should take pleasure in its teasing
First figure out why you want the students to learn the subject and what you want them to know, and the method will result more or less by common sense.
However much you study, you cannot know without action. A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man. Empty of essence, what learning has he whether upon him is firewood or book?
I always wanted to grow up in a house full of books, English books, and I wanted the sort of fireplaces that worked, overstuffed chairs, that whole kind of fantasy of a bookish New England life. So the library gave me that; for the hours that I was there, I was surrounded by that atmosphere that I craved in my life.
Let me make it clear that the Youth Employment Opportunities Act of 1961 is not primarily concerned with delinquency prevention. Rather, it is designed to help all types of young men or women who suffer deficiencies of training or opportunity which keep them unemployed.
I did poorly in math for a couple of years in middle school; I was just not interested in thinking about it.
I loved teaching, but every day that I went to work, I carried the worry that I was hurting my kids because I wasn't at home with them.
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