---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Goal of Education is to Help People…"
description: "\"The Goal of Education is to Help People Use Their Minds Better\" — Howard Gardner"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg"
---

#  The Goal of Education is to Help People Use Their Minds…

![“The Goal of Education is to Help People Use Their Minds Better” quote by Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg)

> “The Goal of Education is to Help People Use Their Minds Better”

[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.

Education should enhance mental tools for better thinking.

**In simple terms:** Teach people to think better.

Key Takeaway

Focus on developing thinking skills.

Themes

education cognition development

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

- classroom teaching
- curriculum design
- adult education

Key Concepts

metacognition critical thinking learning theory

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you improve your own thinking?
- What teaching methods foster deeper cognition?

A Different Perspective

Implementation can be limited by resources.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Help people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-people/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/)

## Related quotes

> [“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/do-not-train-a-child-to-learn-by-force-or-harshness-but-direct-them/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Nothing gives small minds a better handle for hatred than superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/nothing-gives-small-minds-a-better-handle-for-hatred-than-superiority/)

[Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/)

> [Music education can help spark a child's imagination or ignite a lifetime of passion. When you provide a child with new worlds to explore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/music-education-can-help-spark-a-child-s-imagination-or-ignite-a/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/do-not-train-children-to-learning-by-force-and-harshness-but-direct-2/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Through the computer, the heralds say, we will make education better, religion better, politics better, our minds better — best of all, ourselves better.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/through-the-computer-the-heralds-say-we-will-make-education-better/)

[Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/)

> [“Education can help us only if it produces "whole men." The truly educated man is not a man who knows a bit of everything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher-2/education-can-help-us-only-if-it-produces-whole-men-the-truly/)

[E.F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher-2/)

> [“A tidy government office leads to clearer minds and better service.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dipti-dhakul/a-tidy-government-office-leads-to-clearer-minds-and-better-service/)

[Dipti Dhakul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dipti-dhakul/)

> [The purpose of adult education is to help them to learn, not to teach them all you know and thus stop them from learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-purpose-of-adult-education-is-to-help-them-to-learn-not-to-teach/)

[Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/)

> [Right education should help the student, not only to develop his capacities, but to understand his own highest interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/right-education-should-help-the-student-not-only-to-develop-his/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I want to give people a basic education, and to help them think for themselves when it comes to food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-puck/i-want-to-give-people-a-basic-education-and-to-help-them-think-for/)

[Wolfgang Puck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-puck/)

> [“human intelligence and creativity, today more than ever, are tied to connecting—synchronizing—people, tools, texts, digital and social media, virtual spaces, and real spaces in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/human-intelligence-and-creativity-today-more-than-ever-are-tied-to/)

[James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/)

> [Only when one has learned to acknowledge that wiser minds have made better words to come out of our mouths may we truly, then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/only-when-one-has-learned-to-acknowledge-that-wiser-minds-have-made/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Education is how to help the person who's lost a job. Education is how to make sure we've got a workforce that's productive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/education-is-how-to-help-the-person-who-s-lost-a-job-education-is-how/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [By providing students in our Nation with such an education, we help save our children from the clutches of poverty, crime, drugs, and hopelessness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-cummings/by-providing-students-in-our-nation-with-such-an-education-we-help/)

[Elijah Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-cummings/)

> [Education is there to help our children negotiate the world and understand the communities they're a part of. We owe it to them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-swinson/education-is-there-to-help-our-children-negotiate-the-world-and/)

[Jo Swinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-swinson/)

## 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 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

> [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/)

[Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/)

> [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/)

[Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/)

> [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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

> [“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

> [“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": "The Goal of Education is to Help People Use Their Minds Better",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Howard Gardner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people-use-their-minds-better/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Education"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people-use-their-minds-better/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/howard-gardner-3816_goal_the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people_945944.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The Goal of Education is to Help People Use Their Minds Better” — Howard Gardner",
                "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": "Howard Gardner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The Goal of Education is to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people-use-their-minds-better/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-goal-of-education-is-to-help-people-use-their-minds-better/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
