--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: School prepares for the alienating…" description: "\"School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this lesson is learned, people lose their incen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg" --- # School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of… ![“School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this lesson is learned, people lose their incentive to grow in independence; they no longer find relatedness attractive, and close themselves off to the surprises which life offers when it is…” quote by Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg) > “School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this lesson is learned, people lose their incentive to grow in independence; they no longer find relatedness attractive, and close themselves off to the surprises which life offers when it is not predetermined by institutional definition.” [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutional education teaches dependence, reducing self‑directed growth and openness to unexpected life. **In simple terms:** School can limit independence and curiosity. Key Takeaway Encourage self‑directed learning. Themes education independence institutionalization Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - career development - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts critical theory lifelong learning Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance guidance with autonomy? - What alternatives foster independent thinking? A Different Perspective Structured learning also provides valuable skills and community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alienating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienating-337748/) [Alienating Institutionalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienating-institutionalization-3935248/) [Attractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attractive/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Incentives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incentives/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Institutionalization Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutionalization-life-3935249/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-teaching/) [Loses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loses/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Predetermined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predetermined/) [Prepares Alienating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepares-alienating-3935250/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [“School prepares people for the alienating institutionalization of life, by teaching the necessity of being taught. Once this lesson is learned, people loose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/school-prepares-people-for-the-alienating-institutionalization-of/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/school-prepares-for-the-alienating-institutionalization-of-life-by/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [In schools, including universities, most resources are spent to purchase the time and motivation of a limited number of people to take up predetermined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/in-schools-including-universities-most-resources-are-spent-to/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [We spend the first year of a child's life teaching it to walk and talk and the rest of its life to shut up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-spend-the-first-year-of-a-child-s-life-teaching-it-to-walk-and/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-teachings-of-the-bible-are-so-interwoven-and-entwined-with-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've spent my entire adult life teaching at colleges of various kinds, all of them very different from Yale, and I have a fairly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/i-ve-spent-my-entire-adult-life-teaching-at-colleges-of-various-kinds/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [“You think your parents are a pain in the ass now, but they're going to get smarter as you get older.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/you-think-your-parents-are-a-pain-in-the-ass-now-but-they-re-going-to/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [“Or Dohrn—the Weather Underground leader who celebrated the Charles Manson murders, including that of the nine-months-pregnant Sharon Tate, with “Dig it! First they killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/or-dohrn-the-weather-underground-leader-who-celebrated-the-charles/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [“A school of esotericism usually arises in connection with some special realization of the Truth, which it sometimes stresses beyond its due proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-fortune/a-school-of-esotericism-usually-arises-in-connection-with-some/) [Dion Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-fortune/) > [Why does life keep teaching me lessons I have no desire to learn?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-does-life-keep-teaching-me-lessons-i-have-no-desire-to-learn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is sentimentalism to assume that the teaching of life can always be fitted to the child's interests, just as it is empty formalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bruner/it-is-sentimentalism-to-assume-that-the-teaching-of-life-can-always/) [Jerome Bruner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bruner/) > [Our JOURNEY in LIFE is a Teaching, Depending on the SOUL; who is SENSITIVE enough to catch the wording's in the Teaching... Not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imisioluwat94/our-journey-in-life-is-a-teaching-depending-on-the-soul-who-is/) [ImisioluwaT94](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imisioluwat94/) > [I must dedicate my life to teaching my people, for only education would make their lot less bitter, their latent power more strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/y-c-james-yen/i-must-dedicate-my-life-to-teaching-my-people-for-only-education/) [Y. C. James Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/y-c-james-yen/) > [I do believe that there is a greater being that has brought me this far through life. Something or someone is on my side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-mclean/i-do-believe-that-there-is-a-greater-being-that-has-brought-me-this/) [A. J. McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-mclean/) > [I never interested in learning but why my life teaching me so many lessons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-interested-in-learning-but-why-my-life-teaching-me-so-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ivan Illich > [“Universal education through schooling is not feasible. It would be no more feasible if it were attempted by means of alternative institutions built on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/universal-education-through-schooling-is-not-feasible-it-would-be-no/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [The re-establishment of an ecological balance depends on the ability of society to counteract the progressive materialization of values. The ecological balance cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-re-establishment-of-an-ecological-balance-depends-on-the-ability/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [The new experience that has replaced dignified suffering is artificially prolonged, opaque, depersonalized maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-new-experience-that-has-replaced-dignified-suffering-is/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Losses of a kind of satisfaction that have no market equivalent don't show up in the calculations of economists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/losses-of-a-kind-of-satisfaction-that-have-no-market-equivalent-don-t/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Schools are designed on the assumption that there is a secret to everything in life; that the quality of life depends upon knowing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/schools-are-designed-on-the-assumption-that-there-is-a-secret-to/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [The State shall make no law with respect to the establishment of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-state-shall-make-no-law-with-respect-to-the-establishment-of/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [What kinds of things and people might learners want to be in contact with in order to learn?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/what-kinds-of-things-and-people-might-learners-want-to-be-in-contact/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [The pupil is ... 'schooled' to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-pupil-is-schooled-to-confuse-teaching-with-learning-grade/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [To deschool means to abolish the power of one person to oblige another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/to-deschool-means-to-abolish-the-power-of-one-person-to-oblige-another/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Societies in which most people depend for most of their goods and services on the personal whim, kindness, or skill of another are called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/societies-in-which-most-people-depend-for-most-of-their-goods-and/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [“P3- modernised poverty combines the lack of power over circumstances with a loss of personal potency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/p3-modernised-poverty-combines-the-lack-of-power-over-circumstances/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [“Today, one must either be isolated and cut off, or a carefully guarded, affluent drop-out, to allow one's children to play in an environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/today-one-must-either-be-isolated-and-cut-off-or-a-carefully-guarded/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [The household became the place where the consumption of wages takes place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-household-became-the-place-where-the-consumption-of-wages-takes/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Man must choose whether to be rich in things or in the freedom to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/man-must-choose-whether-to-be-rich-in-things-or-in-the-freedom-to-use/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [“Welfare bureaucracies claim a professional, political, and financial monopoly over the social imagination, setting standards of what is valuable and what is feasible. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/welfare-bureaucracies-claim-a-professional-political-and-financial/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) [Explore all 122 Ivan Illich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) ## More Attractive quotes > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/a-beautiful-woman-must-expect-to-be-more-accountable-for-her-steps/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was unusual looking - I didn't have the look of that time. If you look at 'Lucas' - and, basically, my first five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-was-unusual-looking-i-didn-t-have-the-look-of-that-time-if-you-look/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [I hated grunge. No one’s more feminist than me, but you don’t have to look as if you don’t give a - you know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-zeta-jones/i-hated-grunge-no-one-s-more-feminist-than-me-but-you-don-t-have-to/) [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-zeta-jones/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Just be confident. Confidence is the most attractive part of a person. Because if they're not confident enough to show you who they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/just-be-confident-confidence-is-the-most-attractive-part-of-a-person/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [It is very pleasant to scratch an itching ring-worm, but the sensation one gets afterwards is very painful and intolerable. In the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/it-is-very-pleasant-to-scratch-an-itching-ring-worm-but-the-sensation/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [My dad had a personal style which was very attractive. It was quite reserved and quite elegant, and it was infectious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/my-dad-had-a-personal-style-which-was-very-attractive-it-was-quite/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [When you consider the sheer magnitude of investable equities to choose from in the world's emerging markets, you realize that finding one that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mobius/when-you-consider-the-sheer-magnitude-of-investable-equities-to/) [Mark Mobius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mobius/) > [“Are pervs only pervs if you don't find them attractive?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancy/are-pervs-only-pervs-if-you-don-t-find-them-attractive/) [Rick Yancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancy/) > [I've tried to stay true, in my own fashion, to the ideas of The Sex Pistols, even while I was working with bands like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-temple/i-ve-tried-to-stay-true-in-my-own-fashion-to-the-ideas-of-the-sex/) [Julien Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-temple/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) [Browse all 1,796 Attractive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attractive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this lesson is learned, people lose their incentive to grow in independence; they no longer find relatedness attractive, and close themselves off to the surprises which life offers when it is not predetermined by institutional definition.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ivan Illich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/school-prepares-for-the-alienating-institutionalization-of-life-by-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attractive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/school-prepares-for-the-alienating-institutionalization-of-life-by-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/ivan-illich-3546_attractive_school-prepares-for-the-alienating-insti_2061446.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“School prepares for the alienating institutionalization of life by teaching the need to be taught. Once this…” — Ivan Illich", "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": "Ivan Illich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "School prepares for the alienating institutionalization...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/school-prepares-for-the-alienating-institutionalization-of-life-by-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/school-prepares-for-the-alienating-institutionalization-of-life-by-2/#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 } } ] } ```