--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modern education too often covers the…" description: "\"Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings, and at the same time cuts the sinews at the wrist.\" — John Sterling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg" --- # Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings… ![“Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings, and at the same time cuts the sinews at the wrist.” quote by John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg) > “Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings, and at the same time cuts the sinews at the wrist.” [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques modern education for emphasizing superficial symbols of achievement while neglecting foundational skills and critical thinking. **In simple terms:** Education focuses on appearances, not substance. Key Takeaway Prioritize depth over superficial accolades. Themes education critique values Mood reflective concerned Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - curriculum design - teaching methods - student evaluation - skill development Key Concepts symbolic achievement skill erosion Questions to Reflect On - What core skills are being neglected? - How can education balance symbols and substance? A Different Perspective May some symbols still motivate learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Modern education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-education/) ## Related quotes > [I shall never forget what I saw at the Museum of Modern Art: in a spotless schoolroom, fifty little girls painting away at tables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-shall-never-forget-what-i-saw-at-the-museum-of-modern-art-in-a/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [When Christianity is received, it stimulates the faculties, and calls forth new ideas, new motives and new sentiments. It has been the mother of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mccosh/when-christianity-is-received-it-stimulates-the-faculties-and-calls/) [James McCosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mccosh/) > [“If we are to make the ordinary man aware of the spiritual uity out of which asll the separate activities of our civilization have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-henry-dawson/if-we-are-to-make-the-ordinary-man-aware-of-the-spiritual-uity-out-of/) [Christopher Henry Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-henry-dawson/) > [“Of course, it’s not that I really work there. Dorian, like many other colleges, pays a horde of part-time teachers to do the dirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donohue/of-course-it-s-not-that-i-really-work-there-dorian-like-many-other/) [John Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donohue/) > [The trouble with modern education is you never know how ignorant people are. With anyone over fifty you can be fairly confident what's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-trouble-with-modern-education-is-you-never-know-how-ignorant/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/literacy-is-a-bridge-from-misery-to-hope-it-is-a-tool-for-daily-life/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Modern education has devoted itself to the teaching of impudence, and then we complain that we can no longer control our mobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/modern-education-has-devoted-itself-to-the-teaching-of-impudence-and/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The so-called modern education, with all its defects, however, does others so much more good than it does the Negro, because it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/the-so-called-modern-education-with-all-its-defects-however-does/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [The trouble with modern education is you never know how ignorant they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-trouble-with-modern-education-is-you-never-know-how-ignorant-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Entrepreneurs and volunteers inspired by Hizmet's values have invested in modern education and community service in more than 150 countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fethullah-gulen/entrepreneurs-and-volunteers-inspired-by-hizmet-s-values-have/) [Fethullah Gulen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fethullah-gulen/) > [I'd like to say a few words about one of the most popular concepts in the modern education--show and tell. Show and Tell is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/i-d-like-to-say-a-few-words-about-one-of-the-most-popular-concepts-in/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [“Modern education does no favour to the children it is supposed to teach when it de-emphasizes facts; although facts are not the only important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-eysenck/modern-education-does-no-favour-to-the-children-it-is-supposed-to/) [Hans Eysenck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-eysenck/) > [It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-goes-against-the-grain-of-modern-education-to-teach-children-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“One of the greatest faults in modern education is overstructuring, which does not allow for play at every point in the educational process. -Edward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-meier/one-of-the-greatest-faults-in-modern-education-is-overstructuring/) Dave Meier > [Modern education is like being taken to the world's greatest restaurant & being forced to eat the menu.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/modern-education-is-like-being-taken-to-the-world-s-greatest/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) ## More by John Sterling > [“Wisdom’s Pearl doth often dwell Closed in Fancy’s rainbow shell”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/wisdom-s-pearl-doth-often-dwell-closed-in-fancy-s-rainbow-shell/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Like earth, awake, and warm, and bright With joy the spirit moves and burns; So up to thee! O Fount of Light! Our light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/like-earth-awake-and-warm-and-bright-with-joy-the-spirit-moves-and/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Every man's follies are the caricature resemblances of his wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/every-man-s-follies-are-the-caricature-resemblances-of-his-wisdom/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Knowledge, or more expressively truth,--for knowledge is truth received into our intelligence,--truth is an ideal whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/knowledge-or-more-expressively-truth-for-knowledge-is-truth-received/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Of all the tyrants the world affords, our own affections are the fiercest lords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/of-all-the-tyrants-the-world-affords-our-own-affections-are-the/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [You just cant predict baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/you-just-cant-predict-baseball/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Toil, feel, think, hope; you will be sure to dream enough before you die, without arranging for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/toil-feel-think-hope-you-will-be-sure-to-dream-enough-before-you-die/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [The worst education which teaches self-denial, is better than the best which teaches everything else, and not that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/the-worst-education-which-teaches-self-denial-is-better-than-the-best/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [He stands in history as the completer of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/he-stands-in-history-as-the-completer-of-the-globe/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [The ideal client is the very wealthy man in very great trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/the-ideal-client-is-the-very-wealthy-man-in-very-great-trouble/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Be busy in trading, receiving, and giving, for life is too good to be wasted in living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/be-busy-in-trading-receiving-and-giving-for-life-is-too-good-to-be/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Man is a substance clad in shadows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/man-is-a-substance-clad-in-shadows/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Every fancy that we would substitute for a reality is, if we saw aright, and saw the whole, not only false, but every way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/every-fancy-that-we-would-substitute-for-a-reality-is-if-we-saw/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [Pain has its own noble joy, when it starts a strong consciousness of life, from a stagnant one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/pain-has-its-own-noble-joy-when-it-starts-a-strong-consciousness-of/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [I could honor Carmen Electra. I think she's beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/i-could-honor-carmen-electra-i-think-she-s-beautiful/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) [Explore all 33 John Sterling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) ## More Cutting quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) Browse all 6,010 Cutting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings, and at the same time cuts the sinews at the wrist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Sterling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fingers-with-rings-and-at-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cutting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fingers-with-rings-and-at-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-sterling-18985_cutting_modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fi_473477.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings, and at the same time cuts the sinews at the wrist.” — John Sterling", "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 Sterling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Modern education too often covers the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fingers-with-rings-and-at-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/modern-education-too-often-covers-the-fingers-with-rings-and-at-the/#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 } } ] } ```