--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The better I understood my education, the…" description: "\"“The better I understood my education, the angrier I became that most working-class and poor people are denied one. Why are the children of doctors, la..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/frances-varian-77358_children_the-better-i-understood-my-education-the_1479413.jpg" --- # The better I understood my education, the angrier I became… ![“The better I understood my education, the angrier I became that most working-class and poor people are denied one. Why are the children of doctors, lawyers, and engineers taught the mysteries of existence while the children of janitors and waitresses are taught fear? I developed a preoccupation…” quote by Frances Varian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/frances-varian-77358_children_the-better-i-understood-my-education-the_1479413.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/frances-varian-77358_children_the-better-i-understood-my-education-the_1479413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/frances-varian-77358_children_the-better-i-understood-my-education-the_1479413.jpg) > ““The better I understood my education, the angrier I became that most working-class and poor people are denied one. Why are the children of doctors, lawyers, and engineers taught the mysteries of existence while the children of janitors and waitresses are taught fear? I developed a preoccupation with my own inadequacies, aided by a few professors of elitism. To combat my growing anxiety, I began to envision myself a class spy. I would soak up all of the information they could give me and run reconnaissance for my team.”” Frances Varian ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques educational inequality, noting privileged classes receive profound teachings while the poor are taught fear, leading to personal anxiety and a desire to infiltrate elite knowledge. **In simple terms:** Education is unfairly divided by class. Key Takeaway Seek equitable learning opportunities. Themes education class inequality social justice Mood determined empathetic Type activist reflective When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - personal empowerment Key Concepts elitism self-advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How can we democratize deep knowledge? - What personal actions can challenge educational bias? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Poor people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-people/) ## Related quotes > [“I did become the one thing I was taught to fear above all else... an abomination, a Fallen Angel. For love of you, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-valiukas/i-did-become-the-one-thing-i-was-taught-to-fear-above-all-else-an/) [Joanne Valiukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-valiukas/) > [Not naive,' Conch shell had corrected him. 'He simply has not been taught to fear the things you fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/not-naive-conch-shell-had-corrected-him-he-simply-has-not-been-taught/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Did Berg teach you?' Orson says. 'No,' I say. He never taught me anything but fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caragh-m-o-brien/did-berg-teach-you-orson-says-no-i-say-he-never-taught-me-anything/) [Caragh M. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caragh-m-o-brien/) > [“My Prayer? Oh' Lord give me the mind of a warrior that has been taught to fear your name, The soul of a prophet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonny-brown/my-prayer-oh-lord-give-me-the-mind-of-a-warrior-that-has-been-taught/) [Tonny Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonny-brown/) > [“We are taught to fear the unknown, but what if the unknown is whatever we want it to be? What if the unknown was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-beshqoy/we-are-taught-to-fear-the-unknown-but-what-if-the-unknown-is-whatever/) [Natalia Beshqoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-beshqoy/) > [Very little worth knowing is taught by fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/very-little-worth-knowing-is-taught-by-fear/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [So many of the things I've wanted are the things I've been taught to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/so-many-of-the-things-i-ve-wanted-are-the-things-i-ve-been-taught-to/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [“That girl was gone forever, and all that was left was a product of the place that had taught her to fear the bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/that-girl-was-gone-forever-and-all-that-was-left-was-a-product-of-the/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [“I hate it that Americans are taught to fear some books and some ideas as though they were diseases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-hate-it-that-americans-are-taught-to-fear-some-books-and-some-ideas/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Children are taught to fear and obey; the avarice, pride, or timidity of parents teaches children economy, arrogance, or submission. They are also encouraged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/children-are-taught-to-fear-and-obey-the-avarice-pride-or-timidity-of/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [My father taught me to not fear anything. Having said that, much of my addiction to alcohol and drugs was tied to fear: fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sanderson/my-father-taught-me-to-not-fear-anything-having-said-that-much-of-my/) [Derek Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sanderson/) > [Many times we've been taught fear instead of love, which is insecurity, and low self esteem. What if we just choose to let go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-times-we-ve-been-taught-fear-instead-of-love-which-is-insecurity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You were born into fearlessness, but the world may have taught you to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-were-born-into-fearlessness-but-the-world-may-have-taught-you-to/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“But the ancient sages of India taught that fear was born of duality; when human beings realized that they were no longer part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/but-the-ancient-sages-of-india-taught-that-fear-was-born-of-duality/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Learn to love what you've been taught to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/learn-to-love-what-you-ve-been-taught-to-fear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Frances Varian > [“Poverty is not a natural conclusion. It is an intervention. We are not poor because we are inferior as a group of people; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-varian/poverty-is-not-a-natural-conclusion-it-is-an-intervention-we-are-not/) Frances Varian > [“There exist the wealth and the working class. At Vassar I learned the two are not mutually exclusive. No matter how rich I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-varian/there-exist-the-wealth-and-the-working-class-at-vassar-i-learned-the/) Frances Varian Explore all 3 Frances Varian quotes ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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