--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Education, therefore, is a process of…" description: "\"Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.\" — John Dewey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png" --- # Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a… ![“Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png) > “Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## 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 be a lived experience, not just preparation for a future life. **In simple terms:** Learning is life, not just prep. Key Takeaway Engage actively in learning today. Themes education philosophy lifelong learning Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - Classroom teaching - online courses - skill development - career training Key Concepts Experiential learning process vs product Questions to Reflect On - How can you make learning more experiential? - What balance between theory and practice works for you? A Different Perspective Emphasizing experience may overlook foundational knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that the school is primarily a social institution. Education being a social process, the school is simply that form of community life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/i-believe-that-the-school-is-primarily-a-social-institution-education/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [It is not dying, but living, that is a preparation for Death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/it-is-not-dying-but-living-that-is-a-preparation-for-death/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [The best possible preparation for the future is a well lived present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-brimhall/the-best-possible-preparation-for-the-future-is-a-well-lived-present/) George H. Brimhall > [The best preparation for the future is a well-spent today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-best-preparation-for-the-future-is-a-well-spent-today/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The real process of education should be the process of learning to think through the application of real problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-real-process-of-education-should-be-the-process-of-learning-to/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living. Without some goals and some efforts to reach it, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-therefore-is-a-process-of-living-and-not-a-preparation-for-2/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The best preparation for the future is the present well seen to, and the last duty done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-best-preparation-for-the-future-is-the-present-well-seen-to-and/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Unsaid was her conviction that all this was in preparation for some future endeavor. 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Hadji VanDerVeer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadji-vanderveer/learn-from-the-past-to-maximize-the-present-in-preparation-for-the/) Hadji VanderVeer > [Conservatism... offers no redress for the present, and makes no preparation for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/conservatism-offers-no-redress-for-the-present-and-makes-no/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“Living is something most of us postpone, isn't it? We sell the present for a chance at a future where we may do our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-garfield/living-is-something-most-of-us-postpone-isn-t-it-we-sell-the-present/) Brian Garfield > [“What if you save for 40 years, putting off all kinds of opportunities, then get hit by a bus the day before retirement? Better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-guillebeau/what-if-you-save-for-40-years-putting-off-all-kinds-of-opportunities/) [Chris Guillebeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-guillebeau/) ## More by John Dewey > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A tribe, let us say, is warlike. 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(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": "Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Dewey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-therefore-is-a-process-of-living-and-not-a-preparation-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-therefore-is-a-process-of-living-and-not-a-preparation-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc9/john-dewey-545_education_education-therefore-is-a-process-of-livi_1611403.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.” — John Dewey", "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": "John Dewey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Education, therefore, is a process of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-therefore-is-a-process-of-living-and-not-a-preparation-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-therefore-is-a-process-of-living-and-not-a-preparation-for/#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 } } ] } ```