--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Much of the material presented in schools…" description: "\"Much of the material presented in schools strikes students as alien, if not pointless.\" — Howard Gardner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/howard-gardner-3816_aliens_much-of-the-material-presented-in-school_1466862.jpg" --- # Much of the material presented in schools strikes students… ![“Much of the material presented in schools strikes students as alien, if not pointless.” quote by Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/howard-gardner-3816_aliens_much-of-the-material-presented-in-school_1466862.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/howard-gardner-3816_aliens_much-of-the-material-presented-in-school_1466862.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/howard-gardner-3816_aliens_much-of-the-material-presented-in-school_1466862.jpg) > “Much of the material presented in schools strikes students as alien, if not pointless.” [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. School curricula often feel disconnected from students’ lived realities, making learning seem irrelevant. **In simple terms:** School material can feel alien and pointless. Key Takeaway Connect teaching to real-world contexts. Themes education relevance engagement Mood reflective inspirational Type educational theoretical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - project-based learning - career counseling Key Concepts constructivism curriculum design Questions to Reflect On - How can we make abstract concepts relatable? - What methods bridge theory and practice? A Different Perspective Some content must be abstract for foundational knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alien Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alien-pointless-5312618/) [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) [Presented Schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presented-schools-5312616/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Schools Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schools-strikes-5312617/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Strikes Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes-students-5312615/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Students Alien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students-alien-2334709/) ## Related quotes > [Students who are alien and hostile to the education process ought to be removed. You say, "What will we do with them?" I say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/students-who-are-alien-and-hostile-to-the-education-process-ought-to/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [“It's hard, and it's painful, and it's tiresome, and it's lonely, and if on top of i, you really don't think you're gonna make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/z-e-haslie/it-s-hard-and-it-s-painful-and-it-s-tiresome-and-it-s-lonely-and-if/) [Zøe Haslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/z-e-haslie/) > [Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/buddhism-teaches-that-a-craving-for-things-outside-ourselves-causes/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [“If you have no intention of loving or being loved then the whole journey is pointless”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/if-you-have-no-intention-of-loving-or-being-loved-then-the-whole/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in the artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/perhaps-the-meaning-of-all-human-activity-lies-in-the-artistic/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [Getting involved with pointless drama is stupid, there is more important things in life than to worry about than what someone thinks of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-involved-with-pointless-drama-is-stupid-there-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had become a perfect fake human, saying the stupid and pointless things that humans say to each other all day long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/i-had-become-a-perfect-fake-human-saying-the-stupid-and-pointless/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [I walked 10 miles in this dark road but still,i didn't still see the ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-chatto/i-walked-10-miles-in-this-dark-road-but-still-i-didn-t-still-see-the/) [Cath Chatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-chatto/) > [I love 'Pointless.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/i-love-pointless/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We had the city trying to demolish two of our exhibition spaces, which was at first pretty disturbing. But following the freak-out is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsha-kaechele/we-had-the-city-trying-to-demolish-two-of-our-exhibition-spaces-which/) [Kirsha Kaechele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsha-kaechele/) > [There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-comes-a-time-in-your-life-when-you-have-to-let-go-of-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not going to drag it out or make a point, because points are pointless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-jordan/i-m-not-going-to-drag-it-out-or-make-a-point-because-points-are/) [Simon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-jordan/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. It's of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/it-s-pointless-to-be-critical-of-your-stuff-once-it-s-done-i-don-t/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) ## More by Howard Gardner > [Contradictory precepts that have guided me for as long as I can remember: 1: I will live forever. 2: I will die tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/contradictory-precepts-that-have-guided-me-for-as-long-as-i-can/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [I believe that the brain has evolved over millions of years to be responsive to different kinds of content in the world. Language content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/i-believe-that-the-brain-has-evolved-over-millions-of-years-to-be/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [Emile Zola was a poor student at his school at Aix. We are all so different largely because we all have different combinations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/emile-zola-was-a-poor-student-at-his-school-at-aix-we-are-all-so/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [We've got to do fewer things in school. The greatest enemy of understanding is coverage... You've got to take enough time to get kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/we-ve-got-to-do-fewer-things-in-school-the-greatest-enemy-of/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [Students should learn about the long-standing values of truth, beauty, and goodness, think hard about them, and interrogate them skillfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/students-should-learn-about-the-long-standing-values-of-truth-beauty/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [The problems in our educational system are indissociable from broader malignant trends in our society, and they can't be solved by lots of testing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-problems-in-our-educational-system-are-indissociable-from-broader/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [Intelligence is the ability to find and solve problems and create products of value in one's own culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/intelligence-is-the-ability-to-find-and-solve-problems-and-create/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [To ask "Where in your brain is intelligence?" is like asking "Where is the voice in the radio?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/to-ask-where-in-your-brain-is-intelligence-is-like-asking-where-is/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [“Stories are the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/stories-are-the-single-most-powerful-weapon-in-a-leader-s-arsenal/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [The biggest communities in which young people now reside are online communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-biggest-communities-in-which-young-people-now-reside-are-online/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [If I know you're very good in music, I can predict with just about zero accuracy whether you're going to be good or bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/if-i-know-you-re-very-good-in-music-i-can-predict-with-just-about/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [Perhaps, indeed, there are no truly universal ethics: or to put it more precisely, the ways in which ethical principles are interpreted will inevitably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/perhaps-indeed-there-are-no-truly-universal-ethics-or-to-put-it-more/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [I favor a system where students in publicly funded institutions make a commitment: if they do well in the private sector, they will revert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/i-favor-a-system-where-students-in-publicly-funded-institutions-make/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [An individual understands a concept, skill, theory, or domain of knowledge to the extent that he or she can apply it appropriately in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/an-individual-understands-a-concept-skill-theory-or-domain-of/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [If we want to have good workers and good citizens, we need to create common spaces in which individuals can talk about the moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/if-we-want-to-have-good-workers-and-good-citizens-we-need-to-create/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) [Explore all 120 Howard Gardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) ## More Aliens quotes > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. 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Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. 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On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-charles-polanyi/the-respect-for-human-rights-essential-if-we-are-to-use-technology/) [John Charles Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-charles-polanyi/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) [Twe Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twe-stephens/) > [Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. 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