--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Founding Fathers in their wisdom…" description: "\"The Founding Fathers in their wisdom decided that children were an unnatural strain on parents. So they provided jails called schools, equipped with to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/john-updike-396_children_the-founding-fathers-in-their-wisdom-dec_3179085.png" --- # The Founding Fathers in their wisdom decided that children… ![“The Founding Fathers in their wisdom decided that children were an unnatural strain on parents. So they provided jails called schools, equipped with tortures called an education.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/john-updike-396_children_the-founding-fathers-in-their-wisdom-dec_3179085.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/john-updike-396_children_the-founding-fathers-in-their-wisdom-dec_3179085.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/john-updike-396_children_the-founding-fathers-in-their-wisdom-dec_3179085.png) > “The Founding Fathers in their wisdom decided that children were an unnatural strain on parents. So they provided jails called schools, equipped with tortures called an education.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He sarcastically claims schools imprison children, equating education with torture. **In simple terms:** Education is portrayed as oppressive confinement. Key Takeaway Advocate humane, nurturing education. Themes education freedom authority critique Mood critical ironic Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - policy reform - parental advocacy - school design - student empowerment Key Concepts institutional oppression child development social control Questions to Reflect On - How can schools become liberating spaces? - What reforms would reduce oppressive aspects? A Different Perspective Education also offers growth and opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Founding fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founding-fathers/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“John Updike said: “The founding fathers, in their wisdom, decided that children were an unnatural strain on their parents. So they provided jails called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/john-updike-said-the-founding-fathers-in-their-wisdom-decided-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My parents provided me the best they could, if not more. I was even provided goat milk by my parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-usha/my-parents-provided-me-the-best-they-could-if-not-more-i-was-even/) [P. T. Usha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-usha/) > [My parents provided what they could but they could not buy football shoes for me. There was not any day where they wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-wanyama/my-parents-provided-what-they-could-but-they-could-not-buy-football/) [Victor Wanyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-wanyama/) > [My parents have provided guidance, objective feedback, and unconditional support. They are advocates of what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leanne-caret/my-parents-have-provided-guidance-objective-feedback-and/) [Leanne Caret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leanne-caret/) > [My parents have always provided. They're like, 'This is your money, you can spend it however you want to spend it, but as your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-mclaughlin/my-parents-have-always-provided-they-re-like-this-is-your-money-you/) [Caleb McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-mclaughlin/) > [My parents were working class folks. My dad was a bartender for most of his life, my mom was a maid and a cashier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-parents-were-working-class-folks-my-dad-was-a-bartender-for-most/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [ Dr. \[Paula\] Menyuk and her co-workers \[at Boston University's School of Education\] found that parents who supplied babies with a steady stream of information… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-brody/dr-paula-menyuk-and-her-co-workers-at-boston-university-s-school-of/) [Jane Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-brody/) > [Our parents provided us with the essentials, then got on with their own lives. Which makes me realise that my parents were brilliant, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/our-parents-provided-us-with-the-essentials-then-got-on-with-their/) [Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/) > [Ignorant people are apt to overrate the value of what is called education. The sons of the poor, having suffered the privations of poverty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/ignorant-people-are-apt-to-overrate-the-value-of-what-is-called/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I wonder how many parents realize that by the so-called education they are giving their children, they are only driving them into the commonplace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/i-wonder-how-many-parents-realize-that-by-the-so-called-education/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [“Colleges and departments of education have developed in response to the need for preparing the tens of thousands of teachers required to staff our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weaver/colleges-and-departments-of-education-have-developed-in-response-to/) [Richard Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-weaver/) > [Your education begins where what is called your education is over. Your fate is but the common lot of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/your-education-begins-where-what-is-called-your-education-is-over/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [What is education? Properly speaking, there is no such thing as education. Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/what-is-education-properly-speaking-there-is-no-such-thing-as/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Too much of what is called 'education' is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/too-much-of-what-is-called-education-is-little-more-than-an-expensive/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“to be waterdrugged into rejecting the nuances of my own bursting extraordinary self. and to have this be called education.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayyirah-waheed/to-be-waterdrugged-into-rejecting-the-nuances-of-my-own-bursting/) [Nayyirah Waheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayyirah-waheed/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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