--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need to unlearn some of our respect…" description: "\"We need to unlearn some of our respect for education, since it has undermined our respect for ourselves.\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg" --- # We need to unlearn some of our respect for education… ![“We need to unlearn some of our respect for education, since it has undermined our respect for ourselves.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg) > “We need to unlearn some of our respect for education, since it has undermined our respect for ourselves.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overemphasis on formal education can erode self‑confidence and self‑reliance. **In simple terms:** Too much respect for schooling can diminish self‑worth. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑trust alongside learning. Themes education self‑esteem individualism Mood inspirational reflective Type essay manifesto When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - parenting - adult learning Key Concepts critical pedagogy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance respect for education with self‑respect? - What practices nurture both learning and confidence? A Different Perspective Education still provides essential skills and opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Undermined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-undermined-1759659/) [Need Unlearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-unlearn-1759663/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Respect Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-education-1759661/) [Self education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-education/) [Undermined Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undermined-respect-1759662/) [Unlearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlearn/) [Unlearn Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlearn-respect-1759660/) ## Related quotes > [This world is changing enormously. In any position in a company you need to work very hard on learning new skills every day, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/this-world-is-changing-enormously-in-any-position-in-a-company-you/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Many of us believe that we are victims to what happens to us, and therefore unworthy of anything better. What we've been taught and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/many-of-us-believe-that-we-are-victims-to-what-happens-to-us-and/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and thereby increase self-respect. Education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/education-is-an-important-element-in-the-struggle-for-human-rights-it/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I will continue my activities related to education in one way or another. I certainly would have at the top my agenda, with respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/major-owens/i-will-continue-my-activities-related-to-education-in-one-way-or/) [Major Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/major-owens/) > [I grew up as an only child of two parents who had dropped out of high school. They had enormous respect for education and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-grew-up-as-an-only-child-of-two-parents-who-had-dropped-out-of-high/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [“The act of reading is a skill that can be cultivated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-act-of-reading-is-a-skill-that-can-be-cultivated/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The path of light is the quest for knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-path-of-light-is-the-quest-for-knowledge/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [There is no education but self-education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mason/there-is-no-education-but-self-education/) [Charlotte Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mason/) > [“YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU PRESENT DAY EFFORTS ON YOUR SELF-EDUCATION CAN CREATE IN YOUR LIFE IN FUTURE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seema-brain-openers/you-never-know-what-you-present-day-efforts-on-your-self-education/) [Seema Brain Openers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seema-brain-openers/) > [“NO ONE CAN DEFEAT YOU EXCEPT YOUR SELF-IGNORANCE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seema-brain-openers/no-one-can-defeat-you-except-your-self-ignorance/) [Seema Brain Openers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seema-brain-openers/) > [“Every great achiever is inspired by a great mentor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-great-achiever-is-inspired-by-a-great-mentor/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [ He's \[Louis Brandais\] so suspicious of bigness in government as well as business that he mistrusts even really top-down reforms at the state level.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/he-s-louis-brandais-so-suspicious-of-bigness-in-government-as-well-as/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [“My priority is not about grades. I seek yearn for knowledge, skills and wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/my-priority-is-not-about-grades-i-seek-yearn-for-knowledge-skills-and/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Self-education only produces expressions of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/self-education-only-produces-expressions-of-self/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## 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. 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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": "We need to unlearn some of our respect for education, since it has undermined our respect for ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-for-education-since-it-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-for-education-since-it-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b98/gloria-steinem-277_education_we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-f_1768964.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We need to unlearn some of our respect for education, since it has undermined our respect for ourselves.” — Gloria Steinem", "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": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We need to unlearn some of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-for-education-since-it-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-need-to-unlearn-some-of-our-respect-for-education-since-it-has/#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 } } ] } ```