--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot…" description: "\"I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells instead of letting them grow up kn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg" --- # I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better… ![“I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells instead of letting them grow up knowing their families, mingling with the world, assuming real obligations, striving to be independent and self-reliant and free.” quote by John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg) > “I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells instead of letting them grow up knowing their families, mingling with the world, assuming real obligations, striving to be independent and self-reliant and free.” [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) ## 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 imprisoning children in rigid systems, arguing that true growth comes from real‑world experiences and responsibilities. **In simple terms:** Children need freedom and real responsibilities, not confinement. Key Takeaway Promote experiential learning and independence. Themes education freedom responsibility Mood critical provocative Type philosophical activist When to use this quote - school reform - parenting - community programs - mentorship Key Concepts critical pedagogy child development Questions to Reflect On - How can society balance safety with freedom? - What alternatives to confinement exist? A Different Perspective Implementation of such freedom may face institutional resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Better way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-way/) [Better ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-ways/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self reliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-reliant/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We must not only imagine a better future for women, children, and persecuted minorities; we must work consistently to make it happen - prioritizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-murad/we-must-not-only-imagine-a-better-future-for-women-children-and/) [Nadia Murad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-murad/) > [Look at the world around you & imagine it in a better way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kilar/look-at-the-world-around-you-imagine-it-in-a-better-way/) [Jason Kilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kilar/) > [I feel like I just have such the blood and bones of a New Yorker that I can almost imagine better, like, giving up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-feel-like-i-just-have-such-the-blood-and-bones-of-a-new-yorker-that/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [If things are not so good, you may be one to imagine something better. For me, I was able to imagine myself as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-forbes-nash-jr/if-things-are-not-so-good-you-may-be-one-to-imagine-something-better/) [John Forbes Nash, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-forbes-nash-jr/) > [“Perhaps we think up our own destinies, and so in a sense deserve whatever happens to us, for not having had the wit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/perhaps-we-think-up-our-own-destinies-and-so-in-a-sense-deserve/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [I think that hope, that ability to envision, to imagine a better way, and then to apply yourself to it, is the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deval-patrick/i-think-that-hope-that-ability-to-envision-to-imagine-a-better-way/) [Deval Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deval-patrick/) > [It is impossible to imagine anything which better becomes a ruler than mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-impossible-to-imagine-anything-which-better-becomes-a-ruler/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [we had made love without love, half-dressed most of the time and always in the dark so we could imagine ourselves as better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/we-had-made-love-without-love-half-dressed-most-of-the-time-and/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-3/we-do-not-need-magic-to-change-the-world-we-carry-all-the-power-we/) [J K Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-3/) > [Just becouse you can imagine a better version of yourself doesn't mean that you have to hate who you are now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanny-farrell/just-becouse-you-can-imagine-a-better-version-of-yourself-doesn-t/) Nanny Farrell > [We can succeed only by concert. It is not 'can any of us imagine better?, but 'can we all do better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-can-succeed-only-by-concert-it-is-not-can-any-of-us-imagine-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Once you admit how bad it feels to live in a broken society, you can start to resist it, and imagine a better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/once-you-admit-how-bad-it-feels-to-live-in-a-broken-society-you-can/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [“I used to imagine Better was a place you could get to. A moment when I would look around and see that Everything Was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-j-miller/i-used-to-imagine-better-was-a-place-you-could-get-to-a-moment-when-i/) [Sam J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-j-miller/) > [“Precisely when we should be shouldering the historic task of investing this rich, safe, and healthy existence with meaning, we’ve buried utopia instead. There’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/precisely-when-we-should-be-shouldering-the-historic-task-of/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [To imagine a better life for yourself and your family and to leave behind all that is familiar requires a special kind of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lowy/to-imagine-a-better-life-for-yourself-and-your-family-and-to-leave/) [Frank Lowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lowy/) ## More by John Taylor Gatto > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/we-could-encourage-the-best-qualities-of-youthfulness-curiosity/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [There isn't a right way to become educated; there are as many ways as there are fingerprints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/there-isn-t-a-right-way-to-become-educated-there-are-as-many-ways-as/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [The truth is that schools don't really teach anything except how to obey orders. This is a great mystery to me because thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/the-truth-is-that-schools-don-t-really-teach-anything-except-how-to/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“Any economy in which the most common tasks are the shuffling of paper, the punching of buttons, and the running of mouths isn’t an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/any-economy-in-which-the-most-common-tasks-are-the-shuffling-of-paper/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [This was once a land where every sane person knew how to build a shelter, grow food, and entertain one another. Now we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/this-was-once-a-land-where-every-sane-person-knew-how-to-build-a/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Self-knowledge is the only basis of true knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/self-knowledge-is-the-only-basis-of-true-knowledge/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Schools were designed by Horace Mann and Barnard Sears and Harper of the University of Chicago and Thorndyke of Columbia Teachers College and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/schools-were-designed-by-horace-mann-and-barnard-sears-and-harper-of/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [You need experience, adventure, and explorations more than you need algebra!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/you-need-experience-adventure-and-explorations-more-than-you-need/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [A lot of the strings that hold us like puppets are really inventions of our own minds. I'm not saying that there aren't armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/a-lot-of-the-strings-that-hold-us-like-puppets-are-really-inventions/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Is there an idea more radical in the history of the human race than turning your children over to total strangers whom you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/is-there-an-idea-more-radical-in-the-history-of-the-human-race-than/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [School is a twelve-year jail sentence where bad habits are the only curriculum truly learned. I teach school and win awards doing it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/school-is-a-twelve-year-jail-sentence-where-bad-habits-are-the-only/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“Pick up a fifth-grade math or rhetoric textbook from 1850 and you’ll see that the texts were pitched then on what would today be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/pick-up-a-fifth-grade-math-or-rhetoric-textbook-from-1850-and-you-ll/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [The shocking possibility that dumb people don't exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the millions of careers devoted to tending them will seem incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/the-shocking-possibility-that-dumb-people-don-t-exist-in-sufficient/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [I taught public school for 26 years, but I just can't do it anymore. For years I asked the school board to let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-taught-public-school-for-26-years-but-i-just-can-t-do-it-anymore/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) [Explore all 107 John Taylor Gatto quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) ## More Ashamed quotes > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/) Robert Preston > [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“with her own life. And I was ashamed.” Humiliated. Broken. Miserable. If Wilcher had stood by Jaymee, if her father hadn’t berated her, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-green/with-her-own-life-and-i-was-ashamed-humiliated-broken-miserable-if/) Stacy Green > [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/) Vernon Johns > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favour, and who then asketh: "Am I a dishonest player?" - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-ashamed-when-the-dice-fall-in-his-favour-and-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/whoever-is-ashamed-of-me-and-my-words-the-son-of-man-will-be-ashamed/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“To survive during the Khmer Rouge, you had to steal, cheat, lie, point fingers at others, even kill. And now you are ashamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brinkley/to-survive-during-the-khmer-rouge-you-had-to-steal-cheat-lie-point/) [Joel Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brinkley/) [Browse all 1,607 Ashamed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells instead of letting them grow up knowing their families, mingling with the world, assuming real obligations, striving to be independent and self-reliant and free.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Taylor Gatto" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-imagine-a-better-way-to-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashamed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-imagine-a-better-way-to-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32b/john-taylor-gatto-4736_ashamed_i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot_343077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day…” — John Taylor Gatto", "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 Taylor Gatto", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I feel ashamed that so many...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-imagine-a-better-way-to-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-imagine-a-better-way-to-do/#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 } } ] } ```