Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position.

—Bertrand Russell

About Bertrand Russell

Portrait of Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was an English mathematician, philosopher, and social critic.

More quotations from Bertrand Russell

This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities.

—Bertrand Russell

The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.

—Bertrand Russell

True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels themthe desire to do rightis precisely the same.

—Bertrand Russell

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.

—Bertrand Russell

To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.

—Bertrand Russell

More quotations tagged with “teaching”

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.

—Anatole France

The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.

—Amos Bronson Alcott

I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. Think of the old cliché about quote the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master.

—David Foster Wallace

learning choice teaching thinking control consciousness

School is an institution built on the axiom that learning is the result of teaching. And institutional wisdom continues to accept this axiom, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

wisdom learning teaching evidence school

Love is a better teacher than duty.

—Albert Einstein

love learning teaching duty

History

11 Jul 2015 Added