--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Looking back, I realise it wasn't only…" description: "\"Looking back, I realise it wasn't only gym I dreaded at school. Every class was a torment. It wasn't knowledge I objected to but instruction. Why could..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/howard-jacobson-1484_books_looking-back-i-realise-it-wasn-t-only-gy_1229086.jpg" --- # Looking back, I realise it wasn't only gym I dreaded at… ![“Looking back, I realise it wasn't only gym I dreaded at school. Every class was a torment. It wasn't knowledge I objected to but instruction. Why couldn't they just tell us what books to read and leave us to get on and read them?” quote by Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/howard-jacobson-1484_books_looking-back-i-realise-it-wasn-t-only-gy_1229086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/howard-jacobson-1484_books_looking-back-i-realise-it-wasn-t-only-gy_1229086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6f/howard-jacobson-1484_books_looking-back-i-realise-it-wasn-t-only-gy_1229086.jpg) > “Looking back, I realise it wasn't only gym I dreaded at school. Every class was a torment. It wasn't knowledge I objected to but instruction. Why couldn't they just tell us what books to read and leave us to get on and read them?” [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He resented rigid schooling that stifled curiosity, preferring self‑directed reading over imposed curricula. **In simple terms:** Rigid schooling can suppress curiosity. Key Takeaway Advocate self‑directed learning. Themes education authority curiosity rebellion Mood critical thoughtful reflective Type literary educational When to use this quote - school - personal education - self‑study Key Concepts pedagogy critical theory literature Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could balance guidance and freedom? - How does authority affect learning? A Different Perspective May romanticize self‑learning over structured guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Class Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-torment-3794323/) [Dreaded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaded/) [Dreaded School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaded-school-3794322/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Gym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gym/) [Gym Dreaded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gym-dreaded-3794321/) [Instruction Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruction-couldn-3794324/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-back/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Why](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why/) ## Related quotes > [“It wasn't school that I dreaded at all. School was not half bad. In many ways, this year had been downright fun. No, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-buckley/it-wasn-t-school-that-i-dreaded-at-all-school-was-not-half-bad-in/) [Matthew Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-buckley/) > [A thing may be dreaded as long as it has not overtaken you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-thing-may-be-dreaded-as-long-as-it-has-not-overtaken-you/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [Frankly, I have always dreaded writing - there always seemed to be pain involved, unpleasant self-examination and a lot of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/frankly-i-have-always-dreaded-writing-there-always-seemed-to-be-pain/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/after-years-in-white-theaters-i-dreaded-working-in-colored-houses-the/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [By the wicked the good conduct of others is always dreaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallust/by-the-wicked-the-good-conduct-of-others-is-always-dreaded/) [Sallust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallust/) > [“This was not because he was cowardly and abject, quite the contrary; but for some time past he had been in an overstrained irritable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/this-was-not-because-he-was-cowardly-and-abject-quite-the-contrary/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I went to an arts school as a kid. We had to take dance every other day, along with drama, music and visual arts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/i-went-to-an-arts-school-as-a-kid-we-had-to-take-dance-every-other/) [Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/) > [I have written chiefly because, though I have often dreaded the necessity, I have found it more painful, in the end, not to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-written-chiefly-because-though-i-have-often-dreaded-the/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [During my past career as a journalist, I relished writing obits and equally dreaded phoning relatives for the necessary facts. But to my surprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/during-my-past-career-as-a-journalist-i-relished-writing-obits-and/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [My dad was a Presbyterian minister. Yes, I am one of those dreaded P.K.s - Preachers Kids. Be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/my-dad-was-a-presbyterian-minister-yes-i-am-one-of-those-dreaded-p-k/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“The sea of night was at low tide. That dreaded zone where the worst that has happened to you resurfaces to assail you once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chantal-thomas/the-sea-of-night-was-at-low-tide-that-dreaded-zone-where-the-worst/) [Chantal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chantal-thomas/) > [Okay, using the dreaded middle name is not the best way to forge a bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-brody/okay-using-the-dreaded-middle-name-is-not-the-best-way-to-forge-a-bond/) [Adam Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-brody/) > [“There it was, that dreaded word: love. I did not want to be loved, that was the burden. Unwanted love was the greatest burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george-the-autobiography-of-henry-viii/there-it-was-that-dreaded-word-love-i-did-not-want-to-be-loved-that/) [Margaret George The Autobiography of Henry VIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george-the-autobiography-of-henry-viii/) > [In 2006, I woke up every morning and dreaded the ballpark. I knew how difficult it was to even prepare my body to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-kapler/in-2006-i-woke-up-every-morning-and-dreaded-the-ballpark-i-knew-how/) [Gabe Kapler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-kapler/) > [“Guenever began to breathe through her nose. She was feeling as if there were two red thumbs behind her eyeballs, trying to push them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/guenever-began-to-breathe-through-her-nose-she-was-feeling-as-if/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) ## More by Howard Jacobson > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [There's a simple arithmetical logic at work. Build more unaffordable and not always architecturally sympathetic apartments, watch the rents rise, the tarts leave, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-simple-arithmetical-logic-at-work-build-more-unaffordable/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The novel is a thing of irony and ambiguity. That's at the heart of 'J', a world that has stopped arguing with itself. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-novel-is-a-thing-of-irony-and-ambiguity-that-s-at-the-heart-of-j/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [I was a 'reverence for life' man - 'see life steadily and see it whole' - in my days as a lecturer in English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/i-was-a-reverence-for-life-man-see-life-steadily-and-see-it-whole-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [How Donald Trump has come so far with so few words - how he even managed to keep up conversationally with all those beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/how-donald-trump-has-come-so-far-with-so-few-words-how-he-even/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [It is a nonsense to me when people come along and tell me not to be pessimistic; or that culture has always been going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/it-is-a-nonsense-to-me-when-people-come-along-and-tell-me-not-to-be/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [For me a Writing Day was an occasion for self-reproach and panic, a time to lament the passing of the years, stare out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/for-me-a-writing-day-was-an-occasion-for-self-reproach-and-panic-a/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Even the wordiest of men know there's a time to button it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/even-the-wordiest-of-men-know-there-s-a-time-to-button-it/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [That a nation's statuary will reflect beliefs and attitudes that are no longer current or congenial hardly needs arguing. In most instances, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/that-a-nation-s-statuary-will-reflect-beliefs-and-attitudes-that-are/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“Was he a bad man or just a foolish one? He didn't feel bad to himself. As a husband he believed himself to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/was-he-a-bad-man-or-just-a-foolish-one-he-didn-t-feel-bad-to-himself/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The young come in many guises: vigorous and passionate, vindictive and mean-spirited. And not every person over 65 is dozing in a retirement home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-young-come-in-many-guises-vigorous-and-passionate-vindictive-and/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [To a philosopher like Nietzsche, the Jew is culpable not for rejecting Christianity but for inventing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/to-a-philosopher-like-nietzsche-the-jew-is-culpable-not-for-rejecting/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Shakespeare's always been sitting on my back, since I began reading. And, certainly, as a writer, he's who I hear all the time. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/shakespeare-s-always-been-sitting-on-my-back-since-i-began-reading/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [A novelist should make you realize nothing is stable. If you don't believe anything with robustness, you're doing something more radical than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/a-novelist-should-make-you-realize-nothing-is-stable-if-you-don-t/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The Stop The War Coalition is a sort of home to Jew-haters because its hate music about Israel is so catchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/the-stop-the-war-coalition-is-a-sort-of-home-to-jew-haters-because/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) [Explore all 235 Howard Jacobson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Looking back, I realise it wasn't only gym I dreaded at school. Every class was a torment. It wasn't knowledge I objected to but instruction. 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