--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My contention is, first, that we should…" description: "\"My contention is, first, that we should want more from our educational efforts than adequate academic achievement and, second, that we will not achieve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg" --- # My contention is, first, that we should want more from our… ![“My contention is, first, that we should want more from our educational efforts than adequate academic achievement and, second, that we will not achieve even that meager success unless our children believe that they themselves are cared for and learn to care for others.” quote by Nel Noddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg) > “My contention is, first, that we should want more from our educational efforts than adequate academic achievement and, second, that we will not achieve even that meager success unless our children believe that they themselves are cared for and learn to care for others.” [Nel Noddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nel-noddings/) ## 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 aim beyond mere grades, fostering mutual care and responsibility among children and society. **In simple terms:** Education must nurture caring relationships, not just academic scores. Key Takeaway Prioritize empathy and community in schooling. Themes education care ethics community development Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom culture - parent‑teacher collaboration - community service programs - peer mentoring Key Concepts moral development relational ethics social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can schools embed caring practices daily? - What barriers prevent children from feeling truly cared for? A Different Perspective Achieving academic standards without caring foundations is unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-achievement/) [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Care For Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care-for-others/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [I want to get into the educational DNA of American culture. 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Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My contention is, first, that we should want more from our educational efforts than adequate academic achievement and, second, that we will not achieve even that meager success unless our children believe that they themselves are cared for and learn to care for others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nel Noddings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nel-noddings/my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-want-more-from-our-educational/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nel-noddings/my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-want-more-from-our-educational/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/nel-noddings-54105_academic_my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-wa_1638580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My contention is, first, that we should want more from our educational efforts than adequate academic…” — Nel Noddings", "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": "Nel Noddings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nel-noddings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My contention is, first, that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nel-noddings/my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-want-more-from-our-educational/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nel-noddings/my-contention-is-first-that-we-should-want-more-from-our-educational/#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 } } ] } ```