--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of thinking that you put pieces…" description: "\"Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will add up to a whole, I think you have to start with the premise that they're already together ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/myles-horton-28524_add_instead-of-thinking-that-you-put-pieces_1555354.jpg" --- # Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will… ![“Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will add up to a whole, I think you have to start with the premise that they're already together and you try to keep from destroying life by segmenting it, overorganizing it and dehumanizing it. You try to keep things together. The educative…” quote by Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/myles-horton-28524_add_instead-of-thinking-that-you-put-pieces_1555354.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/myles-horton-28524_add_instead-of-thinking-that-you-put-pieces_1555354.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/myles-horton-28524_add_instead-of-thinking-that-you-put-pieces_1555354.jpg) > “Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will add up to a whole, I think you have to start with the premise that they're already together and you try to keep from destroying life by segmenting it, overorganizing it and dehumanizing it. You try to keep things together. The educative process must be organic, and not an assortment of unrelated methods and ideas.” [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education should be holistic, preserving life’s interconnectedness rather than fragmenting knowledge into isolated parts. **In simple terms:** Teach as a whole. Key Takeaway Adopt integrated teaching methods. Themes education holism humanity Mood reflective optimistic Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - classroom curricula - community projects - teacher training Key Concepts systems thinking organic learning interdisciplinary Questions to Reflect On - What practices keep learning alive? - How to balance structure with flexibility? A Different Perspective Rigid curricula can resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Add](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Educative Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educative-process-989947/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/method/) [Overorganizing Dehumanizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overorganizing-dehumanizing-5823438/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Segmenting Overorganizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segmenting-overorganizing-5823440/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-pieces-5823439/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [The result of the educative process is capacity for further education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-result-of-the-educative-process-is-capacity-for-further-education/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The evils which of necessity encompass the life of man are sufficiently numerous. 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I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Love creates an "us" without destroying the "me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/love-creates-an-us-without-destroying-the-me/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Even if we are destroying this planet, we are playing our role perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/even-if-we-are-destroying-this-planet-we-are-playing-our-role/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) ## More by Myles Horton > [I think if I had to put a finger on what I consider a good education, a good radical education, it wouldn't be anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-think-if-i-had-to-put-a-finger-on-what-i-consider-a-good-education/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [Any decent society has to be built on trust and love and the intelligent use of information and feelings. Education involves being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/any-decent-society-has-to-be-built-on-trust-and-love-and-the/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“Now I've been criticized for advocating that people push their boundaries because sometimes people get caught. Sometimes people get fired. Sometimes people lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/now-i-ve-been-criticized-for-advocating-that-people-push-their/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“Now I have very little respect for the electoral system in the United States. I could have respected it in the early days, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/now-i-have-very-little-respect-for-the-electoral-system-in-the-united/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [I feel that all knowledge should be in the free-trade zone. Your knowledge, my knowledge, everybody's knowledge should be made use of. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-feel-that-all-knowledge-should-be-in-the-free-trade-zone-your/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [I’m much better at working out ideas in action than I am in theorizing about it and then transferring my thinking to action. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-m-much-better-at-working-out-ideas-in-action-than-i-am-in/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“There's no science that can't be used for good or for evil. Science could be used by whoever has the power to use it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/there-s-no-science-that-can-t-be-used-for-good-or-for-evil-science/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [If you only try to do the things where you win, then you'll never try to do anything worth doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/if-you-only-try-to-do-the-things-where-you-win-then-you-ll-never-try/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“I don't know what to do, and if I did know what to do I wouldn't tell you, because if I had to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-don-t-know-what-to-do-and-if-i-did-know-what-to-do-i-wouldn-t-tell/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [I also knew that if people have a position on something and you try to argue them into changing it, you’re going to strengthen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/i-also-knew-that-if-people-have-a-position-on-something-and-you-try/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [When people criticize me for not having any respect for existing structures and institutions, I protest. I say I give institutions and structures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/when-people-criticize-me-for-not-having-any-respect-for-existing/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“No one is charismatic. Someone becomes charismatic in history, socially. The question for me is once again the problem of humility. If the leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/no-one-is-charismatic-someone-becomes-charismatic-in-history-socially/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [“The critic said, but don't you feel awkward about biting the hand that feeds you? I said no, I enjoy just gnawing it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/the-critic-said-but-don-t-you-feel-awkward-about-biting-the-hand-that/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [You can't be a revolutionary, you can't want to change society if you don't love people, there's no point in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/you-can-t-be-a-revolutionary-you-can-t-want-to-change-society-if-you/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) > [Nothing will change until we change - until we throw off our dependence and act for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-horton/nothing-will-change-until-we-change-until-we-throw-off-our-dependence/) [Myles Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) [Explore all 19 Myles Horton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-horton/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Global is a unifying bond for people. Once they get outside their own heads and their own communities and see themselves in a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-calvin/global-is-a-unifying-bond-for-people-once-they-get-outside-their-own/) [Kathy Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-calvin/) [Browse all 2,710 Add quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Instead of thinking that you put pieces together that will add up to a whole, I think you have to start with the premise that they're already together and you try to keep from destroying life by segmenting it, overorganizing it and dehumanizing it. You try to keep things together. 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