--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Education is not so important as people…" description: "\"Education is not so important as people think.\" — Elizabeth Bowen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png" --- # Education is not so important as people think. ![“Education is not so important as people think.” quote by Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png) > “Education is not so important as people think.” [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education is overrated compared to common belief. **In simple terms:** Education isn’t as crucial as thought. Key Takeaway Question the value of formal education. Themes education society values critical thinking Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical social When to use this quote - career planning - self‑study - entrepreneurship - policy - family Key Concepts overvaluation alternative learning Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to formal education exist? - How does education impact social mobility? A Different Perspective Practical skills also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-important/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) ## Related quotes > [I think we were raised in a nice Texas Jewish family where education was the most important thing, and close behind that was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-loeb/i-think-we-were-raised-in-a-nice-texas-jewish-family-where-education/) [Lisa Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-loeb/) > [Learning from experience and learning from education, both are important. Your education & values decide how you learn from your experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/learning-from-experience-and-learning-from-education-both-are/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [That education is the most important of all professions is a message the public should hear and understand. And, as importantly, a message that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowell-milken/that-education-is-the-most-important-of-all-professions-is-a-message/) [Lowell Milken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lowell-milken/) > [I think it is not only important that people go to the Anne Frank House to see the secret annex, but also that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-frank/i-think-it-is-not-only-important-that-people-go-to-the-anne-frank/) [Otto Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-frank/) > [It's important that people understand who I am and where I come from and not just have it shaped by purely political discourse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/it-s-important-that-people-understand-who-i-am-and-where-i-come-from/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [Spend unbroken chunks of time with the most important people in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/spend-unbroken-chunks-of-time-with-the-most-important-people-in-your/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“Your education is important because with only a few words you can show an employer the depth of your potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-t-cross/your-education-is-important-because-with-only-a-few-words-you-can/) [Matthew T. Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-t-cross/) > [I think a college education is important no matter what you do in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mickelson/i-think-a-college-education-is-important-no-matter-what-you-do-in-life/) [Phil Mickelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mickelson/) > [The need for a college education is even more important now than it was before, but I think that the increased costs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-romer/the-need-for-a-college-education-is-even-more-important-now-than-it/) [Roy Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-romer/) > [Ensuring quality higher education is one of the most important things we can do for future generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-lewis/ensuring-quality-higher-education-is-one-of-the-most-important-things/) [Ron Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-lewis/) > [Scholarships that allow students to get a good education are important, but first we want to measure the progress that the schools are teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-card/scholarships-that-allow-students-to-get-a-good-education-are/) [Andrew Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-card/) > [I think education is something that is very important no matter what you are doing. It makes you feel secure, independent, and helps you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kriti-sanon/i-think-education-is-something-that-is-very-important-no-matter-what/) [Kriti Sanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kriti-sanon/) > [Education is the most important thing you can have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-smith/education-is-the-most-important-thing-you-can-have/) [Torrey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-smith/) > [Education is such an important tool for success, and probably the most important one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaza-pachulia/education-is-such-an-important-tool-for-success-and-probably-the-most/) [Zaza Pachulia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaza-pachulia/) > [Education is one of the most important tools that you can give somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/education-is-one-of-the-most-important-tools-that-you-can-give/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) ## More by Elizabeth Bowen > [Temperamentally, the writer exists on happenings, on contacts, conflicts, action and reaction, speed, pressure, tension. Were he acontemplative purely, he would not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/temperamentally-the-writer-exists-on-happenings-on-contacts-conflicts/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Are you really an orphan? Yes, I am, said Portia a shade shortly. Are you? No, not at present, but I suppose it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/are-you-really-an-orphan-yes-i-am-said-portia-a-shade-shortly-are-you/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/it-is-not-our-exalted-feelings-it-is-our-sentiments-that-build-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. Outside lies the junk-yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/every-love-has-a-poetic-relevance-of-its-own-each-love-brings-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [without fiction, either life would be insufficient or the winds from the north would blow too cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/without-fiction-either-life-would-be-insufficient-or-the-winds-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [One's sentiments -- call them that -- one's fidelities are so instinctive that one hardly knows they exist: only when they are betrayed or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/one-s-sentiments-call-them-that-one-s-fidelities-are-so-instinctive/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Only in a house where one has learnt to be lonely does one have this solicitude for things. One's relation to them, the daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/only-in-a-house-where-one-has-learnt-to-be-lonely-does-one-have-this/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [To walk into history is to be free at once, to be at large among people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-walk-into-history-is-to-be-free-at-once-to-be-at-large-among-people/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [The wish to lead out one's lover must be a tribal feeling; the wish to be seen as loved is part of one's self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/the-wish-to-lead-out-one-s-lover-must-be-a-tribal-feeling-the-wish-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Convention was our safeguard: could one have stronger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/convention-was-our-safeguard-could-one-have-stronger/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“First love, with its frantic haughty imagination, swings its object clear of the everyday, over the rut of living, making him all looks, silences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/first-love-with-its-frantic-haughty-imagination-swings-its-object/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [to leap is not only to leap, it is to hit the ground somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-leap-is-not-only-to-leap-it-is-to-hit-the-ground-somewhere/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [That is partly why women marry - to keep up the fiction of being in the hub of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/that-is-partly-why-women-marry-to-keep-up-the-fiction-of-being-in-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“But Miss Pym gave an impression, somehow, of having been attacked from within .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/but-miss-pym-gave-an-impression-somehow-of-having-been-attacked-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [rudeness to Mrs. Dosely was like dropping a pat of butter on to a hot plate - it slid and melted away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/rudeness-to-mrs-dosely-was-like-dropping-a-pat-of-butter-on-to-a-hot/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) [Explore all 275 Elizabeth Bowen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Education is not so important as people think.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Bowen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/education-is-not-so-important-as-people-think/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/education-is-not-so-important-as-people-think/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99f/elizabeth-bowen-1197_education_education-is-not-so-important-as-people_2671917.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Education is not so important as people think.” — Elizabeth Bowen", "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": "Elizabeth Bowen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Education is not so important as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/education-is-not-so-important-as-people-think/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/education-is-not-so-important-as-people-think/#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 } } ] } ```