--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We understand why it is better to teach a…" description: "\"“We understand why it is better to teach a starving man to fish, but a repertoire course is worse than handing a a fish to a starving man. Our students..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/jose-a-bowen-86045_box-of-chocolates_we-understand-why-it-is-better-to-teach_3176075.jpg" --- # We understand why it is better to teach a starving man to… ![“We understand why it is better to teach a starving man to fish, but a repertoire course is worse than handing a a fish to a starving man. Our students are not starving; if anything, they are drowning in a sea of information. So a survey course is more like handing a giant box of chocolates to a…” quote by Jose A. Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/jose-a-bowen-86045_box-of-chocolates_we-understand-why-it-is-better-to-teach_3176075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/jose-a-bowen-86045_box-of-chocolates_we-understand-why-it-is-better-to-teach_3176075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/jose-a-bowen-86045_box-of-chocolates_we-understand-why-it-is-better-to-teach_3176075.jpg) > ““We understand why it is better to teach a starving man to fish, but a repertoire course is worse than handing a a fish to a starving man. Our students are not starving; if anything, they are drowning in a sea of information. So a survey course is more like handing a giant box of chocolates to a fat, rich man.”” [Jose A. Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-a-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Survey courses overwhelm students with excess information, likened to giving a rich man too many chocolates. **In simple terms:** Too much breadth harms learning. Key Takeaway Prioritize depth over breadth. Themes education learning information overload curriculum design teaching methods Mood reflective analytical Type academic inspirational When to use this quote - course planning - student advising - curriculum review - learning workshops Key Concepts cognitive load theory pedagogy knowledge acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How to balance depth and breadth? - What alternatives to survey courses exist? A Different Perspective May undervalue interdisciplinary exposure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-teach-851005/) [Box of chocolates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/box-of-chocolates/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Repertoire Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repertoire-course-5800543/) [Rich man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-man/) [Survey Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survey-course-5800542/) [Teach Starving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-starving-5800541/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Understand Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-better/) ## Related quotes > [It Is Better To Teach People How To be Independent By teaching Them how To Do Things For Themselves Than To Do Everything For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/it-is-better-to-teach-people-how-to-be-independent-by-teaching-them/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [“Who better to teach than the most capable among us? 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That was the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-parents-would-say-to-me-you-can-teach-yourself-anything-better/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [I think it's more comforting to look in the past because you can understand it better, and there are labels for it often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-hershman-leeson/i-think-it-s-more-comforting-to-look-in-the-past-because-you-can/) [Lynn Hershman Leeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-hershman-leeson/) > [Often we're having an argument with something imaginary - a fixed idea of the "enemy" and the good. 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The more you understand yourself, the better you serve your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-you-think-about-yourself-the-better-you-understand-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we learn to understand each other, we will have a better understanding of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-gadon/if-we-learn-to-understand-each-other-we-will-have-a-better/) [Sarah Gadon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-gadon/) > [The more positive representation and accurate representation we have in the world, the more we can understand ourselves better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariana-debose/the-more-positive-representation-and-accurate-representation-we-have/) [Ariana DeBose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariana-debose/) > [If you always tell people why, they'll understand it better, they'll consider it more important, and they'll be more likely to comply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-always-tell-people-why-they-ll-understand-it-better-they-ll/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [If I can understand them better as a person then I can understand how to make them a better player too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-dyche/if-i-can-understand-them-better-as-a-person-then-i-can-understand-how/) [Sean Dyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-dyche/) ## More by Jose A. 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"Or check the shower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candis-terry/oh-i-get-it-abby-laughed-this-is-where-you-bid-on-someone-to-wash/) [Candis Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candis-terry/) > [I inherited my weight problem from my mum. She was always on diets. If there was a box of chocolates in the house, she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/i-inherited-my-weight-problem-from-my-mum-she-was-always-on-diets-if/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) > [I hyperventilate opening a box of chocolates. I'm the most nervous guy in the world, a frightened little man on red alert from when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-hyperventilate-opening-a-box-of-chocolates-i-m-the-most-nervous-guy/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [“Your salary is not love and your word is not love. Your clothes are not love and holding hands is not love. 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You let the bad ones melt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/creeper-mod-2000/life-is-a-box-of-chocolates-you-keep-the-good-ones-you-let-the-bad/) [Creeper Mod 2000](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/creeper-mod-2000/) > [People say life is like a box of chocolates, meaning the people we meet¦.some are soft, some are very sweet, some are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deep/people-say-life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates-meaning-the-people-we/) [Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deep/) > [I ran through the manuscript in the space of a day, much as one might pick compulsively at a box of chocolates. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-halpern/i-ran-through-the-manuscript-in-the-space-of-a-day-much-as-one-might/) [Baruch Halpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-halpern/) [Browse all 87 Box of chocolates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/box-of-chocolates/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We understand why it is better to teach a starving man to fish, but a repertoire course is worse than handing a a fish to a starving man. Our students are not starving; if anything, they are drowning in a sea of information. So a survey course is more like handing a giant box of chocolates to a fat, rich man.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose A. 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