--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course my standards are out of date!…" description: "\"Of course my standards are out of date! That's why they're called standards.\" — Alan Bennett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg" --- # Of course my standards are out of date! That's why they're… ![“Of course my standards are out of date! That's why they're called standards.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg) > “Of course my standards are out of date! That's why they're called standards.” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous remark that standards become outdated, so they’re named “standards.” **In simple terms:** Standards get old, hence the name. Key Takeaway Accept change and update expectations. Themes humor change language society Mood witty lighthearted critical Type satirical observational. When to use this quote - education - policy making - technology development - cultural critique Key Concepts relativism semantic irony Questions to Reflect On - Do you cling to outdated standards? - How can we keep standards relevant? A Different Perspective The joke may downplay the need for genuine improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Have you ever thought, headmaster, that your standards might perhaps be a little out of date? Of course they're out of date. Standards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/have-you-ever-thought-headmaster-that-your-standards-might-perhaps-be/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Standards are always out of date. That's what makes them standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/standards-are-always-out-of-date-that-s-what-makes-them-standards/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [As has been said, standards are always out of date - that is why we call them standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/as-has-been-said-standards-are-always-out-of-date-that-is-why-we-call/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“In our state—no kidding—they are called Standards of Learning, or “SOLs.” (I don’t think anyone intended the joke.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-our-state-no-kidding-they-are-called-standards-of-learning-or-sols/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Nations are beginning to look to some vague organization, some nebulous course of humanity, to pay their bills and tell them what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/nations-are-beginning-to-look-to-some-vague-organization-some/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Art finds her own perfection within, and not outside of, herself. She is not to be judged by any external standard of resemblance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-finds-her-own-perfection-within-and-not-outside-of-herself-she-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [I grew up in San Diego, so it wasn't hard to move to L.A. to get into show business, but I did the standard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-benson/i-grew-up-in-san-diego-so-it-wasn-t-hard-to-move-to-l-a-to-get-into/) [Doug Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-benson/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Boys say they don't mind how you get your hair done. But then they leave you for someone with really great standard girl hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/boys-say-they-don-t-mind-how-you-get-your-hair-done-but-then-they/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [America today is a confused society, caught up in a terror war, a culture war, and a media war, where honesty and professional standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/america-today-is-a-confused-society-caught-up-in-a-terror-war-a/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [We can't win the struggle for high standards if we just talk a good game . . . we've got to play a good game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/we-can-t-win-the-struggle-for-high-standards-if-we-just-talk-a-good/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [“Standards are just the most accepted ways of doing things. They're usually unquestioned, not challenged, not the most efficient, and not the best way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-otton/standards-are-just-the-most-accepted-ways-of-doing-things-they-re/) Rick Otton ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. But plays are suited to incoherent argument, put into the mouths of fallible people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-not-good-at-precise-coherent-argument-but-plays-are-suited-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The thing I think about is that once you've done it, you then start to think about what you're going to do next. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-thing-i-think-about-is-that-once-you-ve-done-it-you-then-start-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/at-the-drabber-moments-of-my-life-swilling-some-excrement-from-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/were-we-closer-to-the-ground-as-children-or-is-the-grass-emptier-now/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/but-most-men-regard-their-life-as-a-poem-that-women-threaten-they-may/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/burgess-how-do-you-like-moscow-coral-loathe-it-darling-i-cannot/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-best-moments-in-reading-are-when-you-come-across-something-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/your-whole-life-is-on-the-other-side-of-the-glass-and-there-is-nobody/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Courses quotes > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We are always saying: Let the Law take its Course but what we really mean is: Let the Law take OUR Course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-are-always-saying-let-the-law-take-its-course-but-what-we-really/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I earn my living by teaching film, mostly filmmaking but also teaching courses on current cinema. I'm interested in movies. I hope that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-andersen/i-earn-my-living-by-teaching-film-mostly-filmmaking-but-also-teaching/) [Thom Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-andersen/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Of course it does on opening night, but I've never had that devastating stage fright that some people get, but apparently, you can develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/of-course-it-does-on-opening-night-but-i-ve-never-had-that/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [I studied philosophy and ended on sociology. For some reason, all the advanced courses in philosophy were offered 4:30 to 6:30, so I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jackson/i-studied-philosophy-and-ended-on-sociology-for-some-reason-all-the/) [Lawrence Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jackson/) > [There is no one who can change My course or affect My conduct to the slightest extent. I am the Master over all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/there-is-no-one-who-can-change-my-course-or-affect-my-conduct-to-the/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) Browse all 6,995 Courses quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course my standards are out of date! That's why they're called standards.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-that-s-why-they-re-called/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-that-s-why-they-re-called/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alan-bennett-1922_courses_of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-t_1350221.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of course my standards are out of date! That's why they're called standards.” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of course my standards are out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-that-s-why-they-re-called/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/of-course-my-standards-are-out-of-date-that-s-why-they-re-called/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```