--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The professors - working steadily and…" description: "\"The professors - working steadily and systematically - have destroyed the university as a center of learning and have desolated higher education, which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg" --- # The professors - working steadily and systematically… ![“The professors - working steadily and systematically - have destroyed the university as a center of learning and have desolated higher education, which no longer is higher or much of an education.” quote by Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg) > “The professors - working steadily and systematically - have destroyed the university as a center of learning and have desolated higher education, which no longer is higher or much of an education.” [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that professors have turned universities into bureaucratic machines, eroding true learning and the value of higher education. **In simple terms:** Professors have ruined universities, making education shallow. Key Takeaway Question reforms that prioritize genuine learning. Themes education bureaucracy institutional decay academic standards Mood critical concerned Type opinion critical When to use this quote - University governance - policy making - student advocacy Key Concepts Higher education institutional critique knowledge erosion Questions to Reflect On - How can universities balance administration with academic freedom? - What reforms could restore learning focus? A Different Perspective The claim may overlook positive contributions of faculty and research. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Higher Ed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-ed/) [Higher education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-education/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) ## Related quotes > [Many of these failures can be laid at the feet of the awful state of American higher education, and especially the way in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kengor/many-of-these-failures-can-be-laid-at-the-feet-of-the-awful-state-of/) [Paul Kengor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kengor/) > [To finally reform higher education, we should start by asking fundamental questions, such as, Why does it take four years to get a degree?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/to-finally-reform-higher-education-we-should-start-by-asking/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [Despite the evidence that we already have too many students in higher education, the hot new idea among the political class is to double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/despite-the-evidence-that-we-already-have-too-many-students-in-higher/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [As a first-generation college graduate, I know I would not have been able to open all the doors Morehouse College provided for me if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/as-a-first-generation-college-graduate-i-know-i-would-not-have-been/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) > [... the majority of colored men do not yet think it worth while that women aspire to higher education… The three R's, a littlemusic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/the-majority-of-colored-men-do-not-yet-think-it-worth-while-that/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools - intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/men-we-shall-have-only-as-we-make-manhood-the-object-of-the-work-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Higher education is confronting challenges, like the economy is, about the need for a higher number of more adequately trained, more highly educated citizenry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-spellings/higher-education-is-confronting-challenges-like-the-economy-is-about/) [Margaret Spellings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-spellings/) > [When women gain access to higher education and then suddenly start doing better at it than the men, that can really throw the prevailing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/when-women-gain-access-to-higher-education-and-then-suddenly-start/) [Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/) > [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [I'm not dismissing the value of higher education; I'm simply saying it comes at the expense of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/i-m-not-dismissing-the-value-of-higher-education-i-m-simply-saying-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The online education space, especially in higher education, is ripe for disruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-screwvala/the-online-education-space-especially-in-higher-education-is-ripe-for/) [Ronnie Screwvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-screwvala/) > [The Republicans have chosen to neglect young Americans who need assistance with the costs of higher education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/the-republicans-have-chosen-to-neglect-young-americans-who-need/) [John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/) > [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Considering community support and cost-benefit analysis, I have supported earmarks for projects of high public purpose involving such areas as higher education, alternative energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/considering-community-support-and-cost-benefit-analysis-i-have/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [Because I've never had any higher education of any sort, I've never held in awe those who have had it or have a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/because-i-ve-never-had-any-higher-education-of-any-sort-i-ve-never/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) ## More by Charlie Sykes > [Mr. Trump understands that attacking the media is the reddest of meat for his base, which has been conditioned to reject reporting from news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/mr-trump-understands-that-attacking-the-media-is-the-reddest-of-meat/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [Nothing annoys academics more than pointing out how little time they actually spend teaching students.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/nothing-annoys-academics-more-than-pointing-out-how-little-time-they/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [In 2008, conservatives ridiculed the Left for its adulation of Barack Obama, only to succumb to their own cult of personality eight years later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/in-2008-conservatives-ridiculed-the-left-for-its-adulation-of-barack/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [It turns out that many of the Trump voters who had said they wanted to burn it all down meant it, and they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/it-turns-out-that-many-of-the-trump-voters-who-had-said-they-wanted/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [In 2010, conservatives won big majorities in the Wisconsin State Legislature, and I openly supported many of their reforms, including changes to collective bargaining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/in-2010-conservatives-won-big-majorities-in-the-wisconsin-state/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [There was a time when the Republican Party could discuss possible reforms to our gun laws: Ronald Reagan himself endorsed the Brady Bill and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/there-was-a-time-when-the-republican-party-could-discuss-possible/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [I tried to distinguish myself from the Rush Limbaughs of the world, but I also understood that there were folks on the Left who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/i-tried-to-distinguish-myself-from-the-rush-limbaughs-of-the-world/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [Congress is a co-equal branch of government, with a long and rich history of standing up to the executive branch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/congress-is-a-co-equal-branch-of-government-with-a-long-and-rich/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [I have a confession to make. When I was a child, I was a chronic, repeat doodler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/i-have-a-confession-to-make-when-i-was-a-child-i-was-a-chronic-repeat/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [Unless you have experienced it, it's difficult to describe the virulence of the Twitter storms that were unleashed on Trump skeptics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/unless-you-have-experienced-it-it-s-difficult-to-describe-the/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [Conservatives spent an awful long time ignoring things: the birthers, the bigots, the xenophobes, the alternative-reality media. We had assumed that they were postcards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/conservatives-spent-an-awful-long-time-ignoring-things-the-birthers/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [There was always the paranoid strain in American politics, particularly on the Right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/there-was-always-the-paranoid-strain-in-american-politics/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [In the modern university, no act of good teaching goes unpunished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/in-the-modern-university-no-act-of-good-teaching-goes-unpunished/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [I have long admired Paul Ryan and thought of him as the future of the Republican Party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/i-have-long-admired-paul-ryan-and-thought-of-him-as-the-future-of-the/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [Across the country, universities that had abandoned in loco parentis in the 1960s because it was too oppressive and intrusive have replaced it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/across-the-country-universities-that-had-abandoned-in-loco-parentis/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) [Explore all 72 Charlie Sykes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The professors - working steadily and systematically - have destroyed the university as a center of learning and have desolated higher education, which no longer is higher or much of an education.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlie Sykes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/the-professors-working-steadily-and-systematically-have-destroyed-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/the-professors-working-steadily-and-systematically-have-destroyed-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dad/charlie-sykes-9529_education_the-professors-working-steadily-and-syst_3081820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The professors - working steadily and systematically - have destroyed the university as a center of learning…” — Charlie Sykes", "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": "Charlie Sykes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The professors - working steadily and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/the-professors-working-steadily-and-systematically-have-destroyed-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/the-professors-working-steadily-and-systematically-have-destroyed-the/#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 } } ] } ```