--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was never factually true that young…" description: "\"It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these things. These things are learned, but not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png" --- # It was never factually true that young people learn to… ![“It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these things. These things are learned, but not really taught at all. Over-teaching interferes with learning, although the few who survive it may well come to imagine it was by an act of teaching.” quote by John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png) > “It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these things. These things are learned, but not really taught at all. Over-teaching interferes with learning, although the few who survive it may well come to imagine it was by an act of teaching.” [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. Learning is best when self‑directed; excessive teaching hampers true understanding. **In simple terms:** Learn by doing, not just being taught. Key Takeaway Encourage self‑directed learning. Themes education autonomy learning theory Mood thoughtful critical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom design - home schooling - skill workshops Key Concepts constructivism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How to balance guidance with autonomy? - What methods foster deep learning? A Different Perspective Standard curricula may resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arithmetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [Do we really need school? I don't mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/do-we-really-need-school-i-don-t-mean-education-just-forced-schooling/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Children do not learn in school; they are babysat. It takes maybe 50 hours to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. After that, students can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/children-do-not-learn-in-school-they-are-babysat-it-takes-maybe-50/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [My mother taught me three things, respect, knowledge-search for knowledge, it's an eternal journey. That's like my hair-cut, the line, 360 degrees, find knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/my-mother-taught-me-three-things-respect-knowledge-search-for/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [I spoke French a bit, and I could speak a bit of this and that, and when you were taught those things by people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-cilento/i-spoke-french-a-bit-and-i-could-speak-a-bit-of-this-and-that-and/) [Diane Cilento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-cilento/) > [My mom taught me to do things like hug a tree and ask for a flower's permission to pick it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-bilson/my-mom-taught-me-to-do-things-like-hug-a-tree-and-ask-for-a-flower-s/) [Rachel Bilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-bilson/) > [My old man taught me two things: 'Mind own business' and 'Always cut cards.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-old-man-taught-me-two-things-mind-own-business-and-always-cut-cards/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Thank God I have the things that my mother and father taught me, the things that I've learned from pastors and spiritual teachers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gatlin/thank-god-i-have-the-things-that-my-mother-and-father-taught-me-the/) [Larry Gatlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gatlin/) > [There goes a woman who knows all the things that can be taught and none of the things that cannot be taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/there-goes-a-woman-who-knows-all-the-things-that-can-be-taught-and/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Crows are incredibly smart. They can be taught five things on the drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/crows-are-incredibly-smart-they-can-be-taught-five-things-on-the-drop/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Traditional education focuses on teaching, not learning. It incorrectly assumes that for every ounce of teaching there is an ounce of learning by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-l-ackoff/traditional-education-focuses-on-teaching-not-learning-it-incorrectly/) [Russell L. Ackoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-l-ackoff/) > [My mother taught me three things: respect, knowledge, search for knowledge. It's an eternal journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/my-mother-taught-me-three-things-respect-knowledge-search-for-2/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [I think running a business, doing what I've done for the last - since 1996, has taught me so many things because I started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-greiner/i-think-running-a-business-doing-what-i-ve-done-for-the-last-since/) [Lori Greiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-greiner/) > [She supposed that all those years of loving a person who was dishonest had taught her a few things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/she-supposed-that-all-those-years-of-loving-a-person-who-was/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“Okay, Dumb Diary, school has taught me a few things over the years. Once, it taught me the difference between alligators and crocodiles. (Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-benton/okay-dumb-diary-school-has-taught-me-a-few-things-over-the-years-once/) [Jim Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-benton/) > [If you wish to be popular in society consent to be taught many things you already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/if-you-wish-to-be-popular-in-society-consent-to-be-taught-many-things/) [Charles Maurice de Talleyrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/) ## 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/) > [I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/i-feel-ashamed-that-so-many-of-us-cannot-imagine-a-better-way-to-do/) [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/) [Explore all 107 John Taylor Gatto quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) ## More Arithmetic quotes > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/arithmetic-is-numbers-you-squeeze-from-your-head-to-your-hand-to-your/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-merkley/i-am-pretty-good-at-arithmetic-and-i-know-that-the-fight-in-front-of/) [Jeff Merkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-merkley/) > [Arithmetic has began to totter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottlob-frege/arithmetic-has-began-to-totter/) [Gottlob Frege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottlob-frege/) > [Economics is half psychology and half Grade Three arithmetic, and the U.S. does not now have either half right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/economics-is-half-psychology-and-half-grade-three-arithmetic-and-the/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [The cumulative weight of all mortal sins--past, present, and future--pressed upon that perfect, sinless, and sensitive Soul! All our infirmities and sicknesses were somehow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/the-cumulative-weight-of-all-mortal-sins-past-present-and-future/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Geometry, like arithmetic, requires for its logical development only a small number of simple, fundamental principles. These fundamental principles are called the axioms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/geometry-like-arithmetic-requires-for-its-logical-development-only-a/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [When I was at school, I was terrible at algebra and arithmetic, but I was always the best at English and literature. And acting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/when-i-was-at-school-i-was-terrible-at-algebra-and-arithmetic-but-i/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [“A goal of this book has been to tear down in some small part these barriers to understanding by attempting to shatter the “divinity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-arnell-williams/a-goal-of-this-book-has-been-to-tear-down-in-some-small-part-these/) [G. Arnell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-arnell-williams/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The mortal enemies of Social Security and Medicare are those who, in contempt of the plain arithmetic, continue to mislead Americans that we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/the-mortal-enemies-of-social-security-and-medicare-are-those-who-in/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [Arithmetic arithmetock Turn the hands back on the clock How does the ocean rock the boat? How did the razor find my throat? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/arithmetic-arithmetock-turn-the-hands-back-on-the-clock-how-does-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Long before I learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth, Miss Sullivan had taught me to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/long-before-i-learned-to-do-a-sum-in-arithmetic-or-describe-the-shape/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Arithmetic starts with the integers and proceeds by successively enlarging the number system by rational and negative numbers, irrational numbers, etc... But the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-robinson/arithmetic-starts-with-the-integers-and-proceeds-by-successively/) [Abraham Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-robinson/) > [The loony legacy of money was that the arithmetic by which things were measured had become more valuable than the things themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-loony-legacy-of-money-was-that-the-arithmetic-by-which-things/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 233 Arithmetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these things. These things are learned, but not really taught at all. Over-teaching interferes with learning, although the few who survive it may well come to imagine it was by an act of teaching.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Taylor Gatto" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-people-learn-to-read-or-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arithmetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-people-learn-to-read-or-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f87/john-taylor-gatto-4736_arithmetic_it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-p_1443113.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was never factually true that young people learn to read or do arithmetic primarily by being taught these…” — 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": "It was never factually true that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-people-learn-to-read-or-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/it-was-never-factually-true-that-young-people-learn-to-read-or-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 } } ] } ```