---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To savages it would seem preposterous to…"
description: "\"To savages it would seem preposterous to seek out a place where nothing but learning was going on in order that one might learn.\" — John Dewey"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png"
---

#  To savages it would seem preposterous to seek out a place…

![“To savages it would seem preposterous to seek out a place where nothing but learning was going on in order that one might learn.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png)

> “To savages it would seem preposterous to seek out a place where nothing but learning was going on in order that one might learn.”

[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.

Learning environments should be purposeful, not just endless study without direction.

**In simple terms:** Learning must have a clear purpose.

Key Takeaway

Seek meaningful learning contexts.

Themes

education purpose learning meaning

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

- classroom design
- self‑directed study
- professional development
- community workshops

Key Concepts

pedagogy intrinsic motivation

Questions to Reflect On

- What purpose guides your learning?
- How can we embed purpose in curricula?

A Different Perspective

Pure curiosity without goals can waste time.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-going-880000/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Place Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-learning-1511070/) [Preposterous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preposterous/) [Preposterous Seek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preposterous-seek-1511068/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Savages Preposterous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages-preposterous-1511067/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/)

## Related quotes

> [“It doesn’t matter what road you take, hill you climb, or path you’re on, you will always end up in the same place, learning.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/it-doesn-t-matter-what-road-you-take-hill-you-climb-or-path-you-re-on/)

[Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/)

> [“The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/the-past-is-a-place-of-reference-not-a-place-of-residence-the-past-is/)

[Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/)

> [This is a place for learning, not a house of... hearing about things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-simpson/this-is-a-place-for-learning-not-a-house-of-hearing-about-things/)

[Homer Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-simpson/)

> [Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, some kind of teaching. We are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-highet/wherever-there-are-beginners-and-experts-old-and-young-there-is-some/)

[Gilbert Highet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-highet/)

> [If you stop learning, you're going to be out of the game very, very quick. So I'm going to learn, but I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cora/if-you-stop-learning-you-re-going-to-be-out-of-the-game-very-very/)

[Alex Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cora/)

> [I think it's only failure if you put the word failure on it. I think it's part of the process of learning where you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/i-think-it-s-only-failure-if-you-put-the-word-failure-on-it-i-think/)

[Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/)

> [The bottom line is, if you're not the one controlling your learning, you're not going to learn as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/the-bottom-line-is-if-you-re-not-the-one-controlling-your-learning/)

[Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/)

> [If you think you've stopped learning, you're going to get lapped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robby-gordon/if-you-think-you-ve-stopped-learning-you-re-going-to-get-lapped/)

[Robby Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robby-gordon/)

> [The problem is the average person isnt tuned in to lifelong learning, or going to seminars and so forth. If the information is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/the-problem-is-the-average-person-isnt-tuned-in-to-lifelong-learning/)

[Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/)

> [I think once you stop learning, you're going to stop growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-mcvay/i-think-once-you-stop-learning-you-re-going-to-stop-growing/)

[Sean McVay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-mcvay/)

> [English? Who needs to spend time learning that? I'm never going to England!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-castellaneta/english-who-needs-to-spend-time-learning-that-i-m-never-going-to/)

[Dan Castellaneta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-castellaneta/)

> [I had to learn how to bring the best outta Key! by learning what's going on with him. That's how I approach every artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-beats/i-had-to-learn-how-to-bring-the-best-outta-key-by-learning-what-s/)

[Kenny Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-beats/)

> [In undeveloped social groups, we find very little formal teaching and training. Savage groups mainly rely for instilling needed dispositions into the young upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/in-undeveloped-social-groups-we-find-very-little-formal-teaching-and/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Every one of the constituent elements of a social group, in a modern city as in a savage tribe, is born immature, helpless, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/every-one-of-the-constituent-elements-of-a-social-group-in-a-modern/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Society never made the preposterous demand that a man should think as much about his own qualifications for making a charming girl happy as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/society-never-made-the-preposterous-demand-that-a-man-should-think-as/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

## 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. The successes for which it strives, the achievements upon which it sets store, are connected with fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-tribe-let-us-say-is-warlike-the-successes-for-which-it-strives-the/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [The phrase "think for one's self" is a pleonasm. Unless one does it for one's self, it isn't thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-phrase-think-for-one-s-self-is-a-pleonasm-unless-one-does-it-for/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Doctrine that eliminates or even obscures the function of choice of values and enlistment of desires and emotions in behalf of those chosen weakens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/doctrine-that-eliminates-or-even-obscures-the-function-of-choice-of/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [There is no such thing as educational value in the abstract. The notion that some subjects and methods and that acquaintance with certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-educational-value-in-the-abstract-the/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Men live in a community in virtue of the things which they have in common; and communication is the way in which they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/men-live-in-a-community-in-virtue-of-the-things-which-they-have-in/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/we-can-have-facts-without-thinking-but-we-cannot-have-thinking/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aware-of-the-superficiality-of/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Even the alleged benefits of war, so far as more than alleged, spring from the fact that conflict of peoples at least enforces intercourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/even-the-alleged-benefits-of-war-so-far-as-more-than-alleged-spring/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [“When the organization called soul is free, moving and operative, initial as well as terminal, it is spirit. Qualities are both static, substantial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-the-organization-called-soul-is-free-moving-and-operative/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Since in reality there is nothing to which growth is relative save more growth, there is nothing to which education is subordinate save more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-in-reality-there-is-nothing-to-which-growth-is-relative-save/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Creative thinking will improve as we relate the new fact to the old and all facts to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/creative-thinking-will-improve-as-we-relate-the-new-fact-to-the-old/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

[Explore all 486 John Dewey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "To savages it would seem preposterous to seek out a place where nothing but learning was going on in order that one might learn.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Dewey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to-seek-out-a-place-where/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Education"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to-seek-out-a-place-where/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb3/john-dewey-545_education_to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to_930388.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To savages it would seem preposterous to seek out a place where nothing but learning was going on in order…” — 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": "To savages it would seem preposterous...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to-seek-out-a-place-where/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/to-savages-it-would-seem-preposterous-to-seek-out-a-place-where/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
