--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must reject that most dismal and…" description: "\"We must reject that most dismal and fatuous notion that education is a preparation for life.\" — Northrop Frye" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/northrop-frye-3483_education_we-must-reject-that-most-dismal-and-fatu_1975598.png" --- # We must reject that most dismal and fatuous notion that… ![“We must reject that most dismal and fatuous notion that education is a preparation for life.” quote by Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/northrop-frye-3483_education_we-must-reject-that-most-dismal-and-fatu_1975598.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/northrop-frye-3483_education_we-must-reject-that-most-dismal-and-fatu_1975598.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/northrop-frye-3483_education_we-must-reject-that-most-dismal-and-fatu_1975598.png) > “We must reject that most dismal and fatuous notion that education is a preparation for life.” [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## 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 not merely prepare for life but should cultivate critical thinking and imagination beyond practical utility. **In simple terms:** Education beyond job prep; foster imagination. Key Takeaway Prioritize critical thinking over utilitarian training. Themes education critical thinking imagination purpose societal development Mood analytical hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - school curricula - adult education - policy making - personal development Key Concepts humanism pedagogy lifelong learning Questions to Reflect On - What does education mean to you? - How can imagination be measured? A Different Perspective Practical skills are also essential for survival. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dismal Fatuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dismal-fatuous-3343364/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-preparation-673923/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Notion Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-education-2994758/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Preparation Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation-life-1451173/) [Reject Dismal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reject-dismal-3343363/) [Rejects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejects/) ## Related quotes > [Let us never lose sight of the fact that education is a preparation for life - and that preparing for life is far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/let-us-never-lose-sight-of-the-fact-that-education-is-a-preparation/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living. Without some goals and some efforts to reach it, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-therefore-is-a-process-of-living-and-not-a-preparation-for-2/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-is-not-a-preparation-for-life-education-is-life-itself/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-is-not-preparation-for-life-education-is-life-itself/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The problem in our society and in our schools is to inclulcate, without overdoing it, the notion of education, as in the Latin educere--to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-problem-in-our-society-and-in-our-schools-is-to-inclulcate/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Education is the preparation of a child intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and physically for life and for eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/education-is-the-preparation-of-a-child-intellectually-emotionally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Education is preparation to live completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/education-is-preparation-to-live-completely/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Education is the preparation of the individual for reciprocal union with society; the preparation of the individual so that he can help his fellow-men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-torrey-harris/education-is-the-preparation-of-the-individual-for-reciprocal-union/) [William Torrey Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-torrey-harris/) > [Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not a preparation for life but is life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-is-a-social-process-education-is-growth-education-is-not-a/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [But to me the bottom line is the more education you can give yourself, and the more preparation you can do, the less chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-pearce/but-to-me-the-bottom-line-is-the-more-education-you-can-give-yourself/) [Stuart Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-pearce/) > [It's extremely difficult and very challenging to be a woman in film and television. 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But, to consider the school as a preparation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/to-consider-the-school-as-a-place-where-instruction-is-given-is-one/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [I don't know a better preparation for life than a love of poetry and a good digestion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/i-don-t-know-a-better-preparation-for-life-than-a-love-of-poetry-and/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [“Caring for your body is not self-indulgence, it’s strategic preparation for everything life demands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/caring-for-your-body-is-not-self-indulgence-it-s-strategic/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) ## More by Northrop Frye > [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The only thing that words can do with any real precision or accuracy is hang together. Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [The bedrock of doubt is the total nothingness of death. 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There's no adventure of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/one-doesn-t-bother-to-believe-the-credible-the-credible-is-believed/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/culture-s-essential-service-to-a-religion-is-to-destroy-intellectual/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Tendintele autoritate ale conservatorismului trebuie corectate prin mituri ale libertatii, in vreme ce un simt conservator al ordinii trebuie sa tempereze tendintele liberalismului spre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/tendintele-autoritate-ale-conservatorismului-trebuie-corectate-prin/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature is a human apocalypse, man's revelation to man, and criticism is not a body of adjudications, but the awareness of that revelation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-a-human-apocalypse-man-s-revelation-to-man-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The particular myth that's been organizing this talk, and in a way the whole series, is the story of the Tower of Babel in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-particular-myth-that-s-been-organizing-this-talk-and-in-a-way-the/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Every human society possesses a mythology which is inherited, transmitted and diversified by literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/every-human-society-possesses-a-mythology-which-is-inherited/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Science begins with the world we have to live in, accepting its data and trying to explain its laws. From there, it moves toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/science-begins-with-the-world-we-have-to-live-in-accepting-its-data/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [In the world of the imagination, anything goes that's imaginatively possible, but nothing really happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/in-the-world-of-the-imagination-anything-goes-that-s-imaginatively/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) [Explore all 129 Northrop Frye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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