--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is the matter with universities is…" description: "\"What is the matter with universities is that the students are school children, whereas it is of the very essence of university education that they shou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-bernard-shaw-68_adults_what-is-the-matter-with-universities-is_1728739.png" --- # What is the matter with universities is that the students… ![“What is the matter with universities is that the students are school children, whereas it is of the very essence of university education that they should be adults.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-bernard-shaw-68_adults_what-is-the-matter-with-universities-is_1728739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-bernard-shaw-68_adults_what-is-the-matter-with-universities-is_1728739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba9/george-bernard-shaw-68_adults_what-is-the-matter-with-universities-is_1728739.png) > “What is the matter with universities is that the students are school children, whereas it is of the very essence of university education that they should be adults.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shaw argues that universities treat students like children, contradicting the purpose of higher education to foster adult independence. **In simple terms:** Universities should treat students as adults, not children. Key Takeaway Promote adult responsibility in education. Themes education adulthood institutional critique student autonomy Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - College orientation - curriculum design - student governance - mentorship programs Key Concepts Pedagogy Maturity Institutional roles Questions to Reflect On - How can universities balance guidance with adult autonomy? - What structures support student maturity? A Different Perspective Adults may lack readiness, making full autonomy challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-adults-677914/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Students School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students-school-809807/) [Universities Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universities-students-1409052/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [University education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university-education/) ## Related quotes > [I almost stopped teaching entirely. The worst thing for me is contact with students. I like universities without students. And I especially hate American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-almost-stopped-teaching-entirely-the-worst-thing-for-me-is-contact/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [We all know that the real reason universities have students is in order to educate the professors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-archibald-wheeler/we-all-know-that-the-real-reason-universities-have-students-is-in/) [John Archibald Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-archibald-wheeler/) > [Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/why-should-society-feel-responsible-only-for-the-education-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I think the growth industry of the future in this country and the world will soon be the continuing education of adults. ...I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/i-think-the-growth-industry-of-the-future-in-this-country-and-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Students in school cheat not to get the 'A,' but to avoid the 'C.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/students-in-school-cheat-not-to-get-the-a-but-to-avoid-the-c/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [For many students, school is an obligation, not a joy and a privilege. 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We should be seeking to have fully engaged students now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/the-purpose-of-schools-should-not-be-to-prepare-students-for-more/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [For some students, school is the only place where they get a hot meal and a warm hug. Teachers are sometimes the only ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-juneau/for-some-students-school-is-the-only-place-where-they-get-a-hot-meal/) [Denise Juneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-juneau/) > [I believe that a university education should be free as it is unfair on people who cannot afford to pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-rouass/i-believe-that-a-university-education-should-be-free-as-it-is-unfair/) [Laila Rouass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-rouass/) > [I didn't completed my University Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-didn-t-completed-my-university-education/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [We need university education in Fiji and must seriously think about starting post secondary education in Fiji. In the near future we hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-patel/we-need-university-education-in-fiji-and-must-seriously-think-about/) [A. D. Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-patel/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. 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Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. 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