--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes it seems the only…" description: "\"Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in quotations.\" — Margaret Drabble" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png" --- # Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education… ![“Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in quotations.” quote by Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png) > “Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in quotations.” [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education sometimes only teaches the skill of quoting, not original thought. **In simple terms:** Education may only teach quoting. Key Takeaway Cultivate original thinking. Themes education critical thinking quotations originality Mood reflective inquisitive Type educational personal When to use this quote - essay writing - research projects - classroom discussions Key Concepts learning methods academic critique Questions to Reflect On - How can you develop your own voice? - What balance of quote and original thought? A Different Perspective Overreliance on quotes can hinder creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) [Accomplishment Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment-education-1580411/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Bestowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-bestowed-1580412/) [Quotations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quotations/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Think Quotations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-quotations-1580413/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [We sometimes think of quotations as extracts from larger texts, but some quotations originated complete unto themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-saul-morson/we-sometimes-think-of-quotations-as-extracts-from-larger-texts-but/) [Gary Saul Morson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-saul-morson/) > [To achieve the highest accomplishments within the scope of our capabilities in all walks of life we must constantly strive to acquire strong, healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/to-achieve-the-highest-accomplishments-within-the-scope-of-our/) [Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/) > [Each and every incomplete thing in your life or work exerts a draining force on you, sucking the energy of accomplishment and success out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-olson/each-and-every-incomplete-thing-in-your-life-or-work-exerts-a/) [Jeff Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-olson/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/pay-attention-and-listen-to-the-sayings-of-the-wise-apply-your-heart/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [It is the thoughts that matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/it-is-the-thoughts-that-matter/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [A Beautiful Saying Do Not Wish For Less Problems, Always Wish For More Skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinesh/a-beautiful-saying-do-not-wish-for-less-problems-always-wish-for-more/) [Vinesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinesh/) > [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Don't get anger, force yourself, complain others, waste time, thing much, compare yourself, except, sad, silent, stop thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayanthi-aj/don-t-get-anger-force-yourself-complain-others-waste-time-thing-much/) [Jayanthi AJ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayanthi-aj/) > [That quotation about not having time to stand and stare has never applied to me. I seem to have spent a good part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herriot/that-quotation-about-not-having-time-to-stand-and-stare-has-never/) [James Herriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herriot/) > [You're trying too HARD to convince me that you're a TRUE friend & DEEP Down Inside you know you're not but you stick around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nisha-marie/you-re-trying-too-hard-to-convince-me-that-you-re-a-true-friend-deep/) [Ta'Nisha Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nisha-marie/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) [Luckybannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luckybannu/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) ## More by Margaret Drabble > [“Fresh newsprint, good coffee, assorted texts, some messages on her BlackBerry, what more could the modern world offer?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/fresh-newsprint-good-coffee-assorted-texts-some-messages-on-her/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [When nothing is sure, everything is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/when-nothing-is-sure-everything-is-possible/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [The middle years, caught between children and parents, free of neither: the past stretches back too densely, it is too thickly populated, the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/the-middle-years-caught-between-children-and-parents-free-of-neither/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [I confidently predict the collapse of capitalism and the beginning of history. Something will go wrong in the machinery that converts money into money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/i-confidently-predict-the-collapse-of-capitalism-and-the-beginning-of/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“Minor talents or failing talents ask much of those who associate with them. They suck, they cling, they sour, they devour, and they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/minor-talents-or-failing-talents-ask-much-of-those-who-associate-with/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [How unjust life is, to make physical charm so immediately apparent or absent, when one can get away with vices untold for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/how-unjust-life-is-to-make-physical-charm-so-immediately-apparent-or/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [World War II put feminism on hold for a long time; the men went away to fight, a lot of women in those years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/world-war-ii-put-feminism-on-hold-for-a-long-time-the-men-went-away/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Scenery can be a violent stimulant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/scenery-can-be-a-violent-stimulant/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“Doing a jigsaw was not an intelligence test, or a personality assesment programme; it was a pursuit that lay somewhere between creation and imitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/doing-a-jigsaw-was-not-an-intelligence-test-or-a-personality/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [How extraordinary people are, that they get themselves into such situations where they go on doing what they dislike doing, and have no need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/how-extraordinary-people-are-that-they-get-themselves-into-such/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Nothing succeeds, they say, like success. And certainly nothing fails like failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/nothing-succeeds-they-say-like-success-and-certainly-nothing-fails/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“I don't see how you can go too far, in the right direction”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/i-don-t-see-how-you-can-go-too-far-in-the-right-direction/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [Some of what we read in classical literature is not relative to our condition, but then many women novelists and poets have turned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/some-of-what-we-read-in-classical-literature-is-not-relative-to-our/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“The dining area of the Premier Inn is geared to dispel elderly apprehensions, not to reinforce them. It is noisy and colourful and full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/the-dining-area-of-the-premier-inn-is-geared-to-dispel-elderly/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [And there isn't any way that one can get rid of the guilt of having a nice body by saying that one can serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/and-there-isn-t-any-way-that-one-can-get-rid-of-the-guilt-of-having-a/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) [Explore all 66 Margaret Drabble quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in quotations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Drabble" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishment-my-education-ever-bestowed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishment-my-education-ever-bestowed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/margaret-drabble-10413_ability_sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishme_139522.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment my education ever bestowed on me was the ability to think in…” — Margaret Drabble", "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": "Margaret Drabble", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes it seems the only accomplishment...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishment-my-education-ever-bestowed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/sometimes-it-seems-the-only-accomplishment-my-education-ever-bestowed/#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 } } ] } ```