--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the most terrible things about the…" description: "\"One of the most terrible things about the English education System in Ireland is its ruthlessness...it is cold and mechanical, like the ruthlessness of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg" --- # One of the most terrible things about the English… ![“One of the most terrible things about the English education System in Ireland is its ruthlessness...it is cold and mechanical, like the ruthlessness of an immensely powerful engine. A machine vast, complicated... It grinds night and day; it obeys immutable and predetermined laws; it is as devoid…” quote by Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg) > “One of the most terrible things about the English education System in Ireland is its ruthlessness...it is cold and mechanical, like the ruthlessness of an immensely powerful engine. A machine vast, complicated... It grinds night and day; it obeys immutable and predetermined laws; it is as devoid of understanding, of sympathy, of imagination, as is any other piece of machinery that performs an appointed task. Into it is fed all raw human material in Ireland; it seizes upon it inexorably and rends and compresses and remoulds...” [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The education system is depicted as a cold, mechanical engine that crushes individuality and empathy, treating students as raw material to be reshaped without understanding. **In simple terms:** Education is portrayed as a ruthless machine that destroys creativity. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture human empathy in learning. Themes education mechanization creativity empathy control Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - school reform - teacher training - curriculum design - student counseling Key Concepts industrialism dehumanization authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance structure with creativity? - What aspects of education foster empathy? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overlook positive structures that provide discipline and knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-ireland-1227528/) [Education system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-system/) [Engines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engines/) [English education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-education-55930/) [Feds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feds/) [Grind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland/) [Ireland Ruthlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland-ruthlessness-1227527/) [Irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Like Ruthlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-ruthlessness-1227529/) [Machinery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machinery/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Predetermined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predetermined/) [Ruthlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthlessness/) [Ruthlessness Immensely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthlessness-immensely-1227530/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-things/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [The price of being oneself is so high and involves so much ruthlessness toward others (or what looks like ruthlessness in our duty-bound culture)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/the-price-of-being-oneself-is-so-high-and-involves-so-much/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [In the days of Ram Mohan Roy when English education was introduced in this country, the Mahomedans did not accept it... They did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chittaranjan-das/in-the-days-of-ram-mohan-roy-when-english-education-was-introduced-in/) [Chittaranjan Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chittaranjan-das/) > [Her (India's) great curse is caste; but English education has already proved a tremendous power in levelling the injurious distinctions of caste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshub-chandra-sen/her-india-s-great-curse-is-caste-but-english-education-has-already/) [Keshub Chandra Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keshub-chandra-sen/) > [I am Welsh by birth, English by education, and European by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/i-am-welsh-by-birth-english-by-education-and-european-by-nature/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [What le Carré is so good at is unpicking something very specific about Englishness. That is almost part of why I think he wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/what-le-carr-is-so-good-at-is-unpicking-something-very-specific-about/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [It was scary. But it was so liberating. I thought, This is not predetermined - I get to choose. There are some days where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-was-scary-but-it-was-so-liberating-i-thought-this-is-not/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“Predetermined fate is the slogan of the incapable people; with better ideas, you can always have a better fate!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/predetermined-fate-is-the-slogan-of-the-incapable-people-with-better/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The Lord has never restricted Himself to move by any predetermined formula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-joyner/the-lord-has-never-restricted-himself-to-move-by-any-predetermined/) [Rick Joyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-joyner/) > [Satan tried to put Jesus Christ on the way to becoming King of the world and Savior of men in a way other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/satan-tried-to-put-jesus-christ-on-the-way-to-becoming-king-of-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [It is the striving after perfection that makes one an artist. It is the sense that one is imperfect, unfulfilled, unfinished. One attempts by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/it-is-the-striving-after-perfection-that-makes-one-an-artist-it-is/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [It is only by demanding the impossible of the piano that you can obtain from it all that is possible. For the psychologist this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-neuhaus/it-is-only-by-demanding-the-impossible-of-the-piano-that-you-can/) [Heinrich Neuhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-neuhaus/) > [“I’m not sure I like the idea that my life is already predetermined, though, and that I do not have a choice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hinesh-vithal/i-m-not-sure-i-like-the-idea-that-my-life-is-already-predetermined/) [Hinesh Vithal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hinesh-vithal/) > [At 12 years old in the dangerous world that I was in, with a very difficult home life, I found the stage was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stewart/at-12-years-old-in-the-dangerous-world-that-i-was-in-with-a-very/) [Patrick Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stewart/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“Nothing is predetermined for us, and yet all our possible choices are threads in the vast weave of things, so that we have free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/nothing-is-predetermined-for-us-and-yet-all-our-possible-choices-are/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More by Patrick Pearse > [The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/the-republic-guarantees-religious-and-civil-liberty-equal-rights-and/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [You cannot conquer Ireland; you cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom, then our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/you-cannot-conquer-ireland-you-cannot-extinguish-the-irish-passion/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [“Hail, oh woman, who was so afflicted, It was our ruin that you were in chains, Our fine land in the possession of thieves...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/hail-oh-woman-who-was-so-afflicted-it-was-our-ruin-that-you-were-in/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [As long as Ireland is unfree the only honourable attitude for Irish men, women to have is an attitude of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/as-long-as-ireland-is-unfree-the-only-honourable-attitude-for-irish/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [We seem to have lost. We have not lost. To refuse to fight would have been to lose; to fight is to win. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/we-seem-to-have-lost-we-have-not-lost-to-refuse-to-fight-would-have/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [There are in every generation those who shrink from the ultimate sacrifice, but there are in every generation those who make it with joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/there-are-in-every-generation-those-who-shrink-from-the-ultimate/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [Life springs from death; and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/life-springs-from-death-and-from-the-graves-of-patriot-men-and-women/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [We are ready to die and shall die cheerfully and proudly, you must not grieve for all of this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/we-are-ready-to-die-and-shall-die-cheerfully-and-proudly-you-must-not/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [Education should foster; this education is meant to repress. Education should inspire this education is meant to tame. Education should harden; this education is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/education-should-foster-this-education-is-meant-to-repress-education/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [A country without a language is a country without a soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/a-country-without-a-language-is-a-country-without-a-soul/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [“He may seem the fool who has given his all, by the wise men of the world; but it was the apparent fools who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/he-may-seem-the-fool-who-has-given-his-all-by-the-wise-men-of-the/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) > [Ireland unfree shall never be at peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/ireland-unfree-shall-never-be-at-peace/) [Patrick Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) [Explore all 13 Patrick Pearse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) [Jimy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimy-williams/) > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) [Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/) > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the most terrible things about the English education System in Ireland is its ruthlessness...it is cold and mechanical, like the ruthlessness of an immensely powerful engine. A machine vast, complicated... It grinds night and day; it obeys immutable and predetermined laws; it is as devoid of understanding, of sympathy, of imagination, as is any other piece of machinery that performs an appointed task. Into it is fed all raw human material in Ireland; it seizes upon it inexorably and rends and compresses and remoulds...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patrick Pearse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-the-english-education-system-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-the-english-education-system-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/patrick-pearse-36116_cold_one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-th_1708969.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the most terrible things about the English education System in Ireland is its ruthlessness...it is…” — Patrick Pearse", "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": "Patrick Pearse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pearse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the most terrible things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-the-english-education-system-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pearse/one-of-the-most-terrible-things-about-the-english-education-system-in/#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 } } ] } ```