--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Public education was not founded to give…" description: "\"Public education was not founded to give society what it wants. Quite the opposite.\" — May Sarton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/may-sarton-897_education_public-education-was-not-founded-to-give_666798.jpg" --- # Public education was not founded to give society what it… ![“Public education was not founded to give society what it wants. Quite the opposite.” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/may-sarton-897_education_public-education-was-not-founded-to-give_666798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/may-sarton-897_education_public-education-was-not-founded-to-give_666798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/may-sarton-897_education_public-education-was-not-founded-to-give_666798.jpg) > “Public education was not founded to give society what it wants. Quite the opposite.” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society creates education to shape citizens, not merely to satisfy current desires. **In simple terms:** Education shapes society, not just serves it. Key Takeaway Consider how education influences future values. Themes education society purpose citizenship Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - policy making - curriculum design - parental involvement - community activism Key Concepts social engineering public good Questions to Reflect On - What values should education prioritize? - How does education balance tradition and progress? A Different Perspective Education may conflict with prevailing cultural norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Public education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-education/) ## Related quotes > [An education not founded on Art will never succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/an-education-not-founded-on-art-will-never-succeed/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“They made a simple enough mistake. The same one we’re making. They founded their society on resource extraction, and in doing so, inflated their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/they-made-a-simple-enough-mistake-the-same-one-we-re-making-they/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [“They founded a society based not upon currency and commodities but on the elementary notion that if you failed to raise enough to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-abbott/they-founded-a-society-based-not-upon-currency-and-commodities-but-on/) Shirley Abbott > [I feel very American, but my upbringing was quite the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xander-schauffele/i-feel-very-american-but-my-upbringing-was-quite-the-opposite/) [Xander Schauffele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xander-schauffele/) > [I haven't had anyone say, 'No, we can't because he's gay.' In fact, it's been quite the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/i-haven-t-had-anyone-say-no-we-can-t-because-he-s-gay-in-fact-it-s/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [I've never been one to want to stay the same. Quite the opposite, I relish the chance to be different and unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-scurll/i-ve-never-been-one-to-want-to-stay-the-same-quite-the-opposite-i/) [Marty Scurll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-scurll/) > [“IN practicing meditation, we’re not trying to live up to some kind of ideal—quite the opposite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/in-practicing-meditation-we-re-not-trying-to-live-up-to-some-kind-of/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [For some strange reason, my gay life didn't get easier when I came out. 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My parents didn't force me into it, and quite the opposite happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-long/football-for-me-wasn-t-a-foregone-conclusion-my-parents-didn-t-force/) [Chris Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-long/) > [No one's memory is infallible, of course - quite the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid-nunez/no-one-s-memory-is-infallible-of-course-quite-the-opposite/) [Sigrid Nunez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid-nunez/) > [“Facing something down doesn´t mean you aren´t afraid of it," I said dryly. "Usually quite the opposite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/facing-something-down-doesn-t-mean-you-aren-t-afraid-of-it-i-said/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Public education was not founded to give society what it wants. 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