General Education Quotes

• The education that prepared me was my general education classes, which I tried to avoid when I was a stupid undergraduate, but which gave me the foundation of general knowledge that makes a career as a writer possible.

  Orson Scott Card

  Stupid, Class, Careers

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• There is no one area of chemical engineering that specifically helped me in my career as an astronaut, it was more the general education in engineering. Also, it was a very difficult and rigorous course. So, it made me strong and resourceful.

  Leroy Chiao

  Strong, Engineering, Careers

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• In many places it is literally not safe physically for youngsters to go to school. And in many schools, and its becoming almost generally true, it is spiritually unsafe to attend public schools. Look back over the history of education to the turn of the century and the beginning of the educational philosophies, pragmatism and humanism were the early ones, and they branched out into a number of other philosophies which have led us now into a circumstance where our schools are producing the problems that we face.

  Boyd K. Packer

  Philosophy, Educational, School

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• The theory of modern education is that you need a general education before you specialize. And I think to some extent, before you're going to be a great stock picker, you need some general education.

  Charlie Munger

  Thinking, Needs, Modern

  "Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor". Book by Tren Griffin, September 15, 2015.

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• Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.

  George Washington Carver

  Education, Teacher, Freedom

  George Washington Carver, Gary R. Kremer (1991). “George Washington Carver: In His Own Words”, p.62, University of Missouri Press

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• Before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of education...to raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher.

  John Adams

  Teacher, Teaching, Memorable

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• The difficulty with coming up with a curriculum is mainly that faculty aren't trained to think in terms of general education. They're trained to think in terms of their own discipline, or their specialty.

  Louis Menand

  Thinking, Discipline, Curriculum

  Big Think Interview, bigthink.com.

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• I have indeed two great measures at heart, without which no republic can maintain itself in strength: 1. That of general education, to enable every man to judge for himself what will secure or endanger his freedom. 2. To divide every county into hundreds, of such size that all the children of each will be within reach of a central school in it.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Children, Heart, School

  Thomas Jefferson, Jean M. Yarbrough (1963). “The Essential Jefferson”, p.207, Hackett Publishing

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• We are lucky in the United States to have our liberal arts system. In most countries, if you go to university, you have to decide for all English literature or no literature, all philosophy or no philosophy. But we have a system that is one part general education and one part specialization. If your parents say you've got to major in computer science, you can do that. But you can also take general education courses in the humanities, and usually you have to.

  Martha C. Nussbaum

  Country, Art, Philosophy

  Source: www.neh.gov

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• When I was at school you got an overall general education, on many things, even just basic facts.

  Jo Brand

  School, Facts

  "Jo Brand: 'National treasure? I'd rather maintain a taint of national disgrace'". Interview with Euan Ferguson, www.theguardian.com. September 10, 2011.

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• All this has been very formative in both my research and my teaching, so I value it enormously in my life. It's why I'm a strong proponent of general education -- because I saw how it opened my eyes.

  Paul Rozin

  Strong, Teaching, Eye

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• I do think that a general liberal arts education is very important, particularly in an uncertain changing world

  Steve Case

  Art, Thinking, Important

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• A sharp difference should exist between general education and specialized knowledge. As particularly today the latter threatens more and more to sink into the service of pure Mammon, general education, at least in its more ideal attitude, must be retained as a counterweight.

  Adolf Hitler

  Attitude, Differences, Today

  Adolf Hitler (1998). “Mein Kampf”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• Once it is recognized that productive thinking in any area of cognition is perceptual thinking, the central function of art in general education will become evident.

  Rudolf Arnheim

  Art, Thinking, Cognition

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• Prophetic of infidel times, and indicating the unsoundness of our general education, 'The Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation', has started into public favour with a fair chance of poisoning the fountains of science, and sapping the foundations of religion.

  David Brewster

  Foundation, Favour, Chance

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• But before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of Education and knowledge must become so general as to raise the lower ranks of Society nearer to the higher. The Education of a Nation, instead of being confined to a few schools & Universities, for the instruction of the few, must become the National Care and expence, for the information of the Many.

  John Adams

  Education, Money, Memorable

  John Adams (2016). “Papers of John Adams, Volume 18: December 1785 - January 1787”, p.218, Harvard University Press

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• Despite the hours spent debating different models of general education, the choices faculties make rarely lead to any significant difference in the cognitive development of undergraduates.

  Derek Bok

  Differences, Choices, Different

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• In general, higher education does not know how to speak for its interests. It offers a stance that is defensive, cowardly and likely to be ineffective.

  Stanley Fish

  Doe, Speak, Higher Education

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• General education is the best preventive of the evils now most dreaded. In the civilized countries of the world, the question is how to distribute most generally and equally the property of the world. As a rule, where education is most general the distribution of property is most general.... As knowledge spreads, wealth spreads. To diffuse knowledge is to diffuse wealth. To give all an equal chance to acquire knowledge is the best and surest way to give all an equal chance to acquire property.

  Rutherford B. Hayes

  Education, Country, Countries Of The World

  "Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes". Book by Rutherford B. Hayes, 1922 - 1926.

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• Therefore, to teach them [women] at least an outline of economics and law is the first requirement after giving them a general education. Figuratively speaking, it will be like providing the women of civilized society with a pocket dagger for self-protection.

  Fukuzawa Yukichi

  Law, Self, Giving

  Yukichi Fukuzawa, Eiichi Kiyooka (1988). “Fukuzawa Yukichi on Japanese women: selected works”, Univ of Tokyo Pr

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• It is, however, a most astonishing but incontestable fact, that the history of the evolution of man as yet constitutes no part of general education. Indeed, our so-called "educated classes" are to this day in total ignorance of the most important circumstances and the most remarkable phenomena which Anthropogeny has brought to light.

  Ernst Haeckel

  Ignorance, Science, Men

  Ernst Haeckel (1883). “The Evolution of Man: A Popular Exposition of the Principal Points of Human Ontogeny and Phylogeny”

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• ‎A general State education is a mere contrivance for moulding people to be exactly like one another; and as the mould in which it casts them is that which pleases the dominant power in the government, whether this be a monarch, an aristocracy, or a majority of the existing generation; in proportion as it is efficient and successful, it establishes a despotism over the mind, leading by a natural tendency to one over the body.

  John Stuart Mill

  Education, Successful, Government

  John Stuart Mill (1978). “On Liberty”, Penguin Books

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• A general State education is a mere contrivance for moulding people to be exactly like one another, and as the mould in which it casts them is that which pleases the dominant power in the government.

  John Stuart Mill

  School Education, Education And Freedom, Government

  John Stuart Mill (1978). “On Liberty”, Penguin Books

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• Be The Peace You Wish To See In The World!

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Motivational, Change

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• As women slowly gain power, their values and priorities are reshaping the agenda. A multitude of studies show that when women control the family funds, they generally spend more on health, nutrition, and education - and less on alcohol and cigarettes.

  Dee Dee Myers

  Funny Sarcastic, Priorities, Alcohol

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