--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our schools and universities are like the…" description: "\"“Our schools and universities are like the old Soviet department stores whose mission was to serve the interests of the sales clerks and not the custom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/f-h-buckley-53539_department-stores_our-schools-and-universities-are-like-th_2535058.jpg" --- # Our schools and universities are like the old Soviet… ![“Our schools and universities are like the old Soviet department stores whose mission was to serve the interests of the sales clerks and not the customers.” quote by F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/f-h-buckley-53539_department-stores_our-schools-and-universities-are-like-th_2535058.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/f-h-buckley-53539_department-stores_our-schools-and-universities-are-like-th_2535058.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/f-h-buckley-53539_department-stores_our-schools-and-universities-are-like-th_2535058.jpg) > ““Our schools and universities are like the old Soviet department stores whose mission was to serve the interests of the sales clerks and not the customers.”” [F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) ## 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 compares schools to Soviet stores, serving staff interests over students, implying misaligned priorities. **In simple terms:** Schools may prioritize staff over students. Key Takeaway Advocate for student‑centered education. Themes education misalignment institutional critique Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical educational When to use this quote - school policy reviews - curriculum design - teacher training Key Concepts student needs institutional reform Questions to Reflect On - What changes would truly serve students? - How can institutions balance staff and student interests? A Different Perspective Reform is complex and may face resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Department stores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/department-stores/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) ## Related quotes > [Schools have never been about getting access to information. That's the job of libraries. Schools and universities have nobler missions as gentle gatekeepers. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/schools-have-never-been-about-getting-access-to-information-that-s/) Andrew Nikiforuk > [In K-12, almost everybody goes to local schools. Universities are a bit different because kids actually do pick the university. The bizarre thing, though,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/in-k-12-almost-everybody-goes-to-local-schools-universities-are-a-bit/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [For online universities, like Liverpool and the University of Phoenix, if prices drop by 60%, they still make money. But for the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-online-universities-like-liverpool-and-the-university-of-phoenix/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In real life, Oxford and Cambridge are two excellent universities, like many others in the country. They are full of highly intelligent, hard-working, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/in-real-life-oxford-and-cambridge-are-two-excellent-universities-like/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Universities are not like supermarkets: their job is to serve the country, not just the customers who happen to walk through their doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lammy/universities-are-not-like-supermarkets-their-job-is-to-serve-the/) [David Lammy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lammy/) > [Large department stores, with their luxuriant abundance of canned goods, foods, and clothing, are like the primary landscape and the geometrical locus of affluence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/large-department-stores-with-their-luxuriant-abundance-of-canned/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [I don't like department stores. I had a chain of department stores back in 1994 which was Lewis's and Owen Owen, only for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-green/i-don-t-like-department-stores-i-had-a-chain-of-department-stores/) [Philip Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-green/) > [“I click to buy it and I’m furious to discover that it’s not available in Ireland and they won’t post it from abroad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-click-to-buy-it-and-i-m-furious-to-discover-that-it-s-not-available/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [As a kid, I would always shop for my back-to-school clothes at department stores. I lived in a small town, and department stores were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-robertson/as-a-kid-i-would-always-shop-for-my-back-to-school-clothes-at/) [Britt Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-robertson/) > [If - and it can be in a movie or in a department store - I hear someone arguing with their child, I break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/if-and-it-can-be-in-a-movie-or-in-a-department-store-i-hear-someone/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [The first job I got when I was in high school was working for a department store in New York. I worked in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-knuckles/the-first-job-i-got-when-i-was-in-high-school-was-working-for-a/) [Frankie Knuckles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-knuckles/) > [The person I love would never wear fur. Fur just makes me think of shallow women who have no conscience. The fur industry belongs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-rossdale/the-person-i-love-would-never-wear-fur-fur-just-makes-me-think-of/) [Gavin Rossdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-rossdale/) > [I prefer department stores. In boutiques, they come up and ask you if you need help. I can't get lost in the experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-netrebko/i-prefer-department-stores-in-boutiques-they-come-up-and-ask-you-if/) [Anna Netrebko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-netrebko/) > [Personal shoppers in big department stores are seriously under-used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-reardon/personal-shoppers-in-big-department-stores-are-seriously-under-used/) [Kate Reardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-reardon/) ## More by F. H. Buckley > [“the needs of Americans take priority over the interests of non-Americans, that what is denied non-Americans must be paid for by what is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-buckley/the-needs-of-americans-take-priority-over-the-interests-of-non/) [F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) > [“Technological change, globalization, genetic advantages, even greed, are to be found everywhere, and can’t explain why we are more immobile than the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-buckley/technological-change-globalization-genetic-advantages-even-greed-are/) [F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) > [“Nineteenth century industrial society had created a new class of slaves,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-buckley/nineteenth-century-industrial-society-had-created-a-new-class-of/) [F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) > [“the enemies of promise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-buckley/the-enemies-of-promise/) [F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) > [“The natural aristocracy, said Jefferson, was one of virtue or talents, and he contrasted this with an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-buckley/the-natural-aristocracy-said-jefferson-was-one-of-virtue-or-talents/) [F. H. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) [Explore all 6 F. H. Buckley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-buckley/) ## More Department stores quotes > [Personal shoppers in big department stores are seriously under-used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-reardon/personal-shoppers-in-big-department-stores-are-seriously-under-used/) [Kate Reardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-reardon/) > [I prefer department stores. In boutiques, they come up and ask you if you need help. I can't get lost in the experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-netrebko/i-prefer-department-stores-in-boutiques-they-come-up-and-ask-you-if/) [Anna Netrebko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-netrebko/) > [The person I love would never wear fur. Fur just makes me think of shallow women who have no conscience. The fur industry belongs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-rossdale/the-person-i-love-would-never-wear-fur-fur-just-makes-me-think-of/) [Gavin Rossdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-rossdale/) > [The first job I got when I was in high school was working for a department store in New York. I worked in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-knuckles/the-first-job-i-got-when-i-was-in-high-school-was-working-for-a/) [Frankie Knuckles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-knuckles/) > [If - and it can be in a movie or in a department store - I hear someone arguing with their child, I break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/if-and-it-can-be-in-a-movie-or-in-a-department-store-i-hear-someone/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [As a kid, I would always shop for my back-to-school clothes at department stores. I lived in a small town, and department stores were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-robertson/as-a-kid-i-would-always-shop-for-my-back-to-school-clothes-at/) [Britt Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-robertson/) > [“I click to buy it and I’m furious to discover that it’s not available in Ireland and they won’t post it from abroad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-click-to-buy-it-and-i-m-furious-to-discover-that-it-s-not-available/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I don't like department stores. I had a chain of department stores back in 1994 which was Lewis's and Owen Owen, only for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-green/i-don-t-like-department-stores-i-had-a-chain-of-department-stores/) [Philip Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-green/) > [I had a lot of jobs, because I wanted to be an actor, and I had this bad habit of wanting to eat regularly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/i-had-a-lot-of-jobs-because-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-i-had-this/) [Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hilton-jacobs/) > [Large department stores, with their luxuriant abundance of canned goods, foods, and clothing, are like the primary landscape and the geometrical locus of affluence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/large-department-stores-with-their-luxuriant-abundance-of-canned/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [I never saw a department store Santa as a kid. My mother was afraid to take me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-zwigoff/i-never-saw-a-department-store-santa-as-a-kid-my-mother-was-afraid-to/) [Terry Zwigoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-zwigoff/) > [In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men's underwear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/in-department-stores-so-much-kitchen-equipment-is-bought/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Curiously, ghosts are rarely if ever seen in the nude. They appear fully clothed, and may even change clothing on subsequent appearances. They may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loyd-auerbach/curiously-ghosts-are-rarely-if-ever-seen-in-the-nude-they-appear/) [Loyd Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loyd-auerbach/) > [I despise shopping and department stores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethenny-frankel/i-despise-shopping-and-department-stores/) [Bethenny Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethenny-frankel/) > [If I were a buyer today in one of the American department stores, I would go with extremes-the most beautiful, the more expensive, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alber-elbaz/if-i-were-a-buyer-today-in-one-of-the-american-department-stores-i/) [Alber Elbaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alber-elbaz/) [Browse all 61 Department stores quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/department-stores/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our schools and universities are like the old Soviet department stores whose mission was to serve the interests of the sales clerks and not the customers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F. 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