--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have maintained a passionate interest…" description: "\"I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everythi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg" --- # I have maintained a passionate interest in education… ![“I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well in our schools. My main concern is that an over-emphasis on testing and league tables has led to a lack of time and freedom for a true…” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg) > “I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well in our schools. My main concern is that an over-emphasis on testing and league tables has led to a lack of time and freedom for a true, imaginative and humane engagement with literature.” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Over‑testing limits creative learning, reducing time for imaginative literary engagement. **In simple terms:** Testing harms imagination. Key Takeaway Advocate for balanced education. Themes education creativity assessment Mood thoughtful concerned Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - classroom design - policy reform - teacher training Key Concepts critical thinking literary appreciation Questions to Reflect On - How can testing coexist with creativity? - What alternatives support both accountability and imagination? A Different Perspective Testing also provides measurable data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Lack of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-time/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Passionate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passionate/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I tell kids to be as passionate about your education as you are about anything else in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-crawford/i-tell-kids-to-be-as-passionate-about-your-education-as-you-are-about/) [Jamal Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-crawford/) > [My wife and I have been passionate about education being a gateway for upward mobility and equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-long/my-wife-and-i-have-been-passionate-about-education-being-a-gateway/) [Chris Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-long/) > [Valentine's Day: Rubbing singles' noses in their lack of a mate and the noses of couples in their lack of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mclaughlin/valentine-s-day-rubbing-singles-noses-in-their-lack-of-a-mate-and-the/) [Emma McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mclaughlin/) > [One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/one-of-the-great-uses-of-twitter-and-facebook-will-be-to-prove-at-the/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being overwhelmed is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/slow-down-and-remember-this-most-things-make-no-difference-being-busy/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Nowadays it often takes two parents working full-time to secure the same standard of living one wage earner could provide thirty or forty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/nowadays-it-often-takes-two-parents-working-full-time-to-secure-the/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [When I have spare time, I catch up on things I've had to postpone due to lack of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/when-i-have-spare-time-i-catch-up-on-things-i-ve-had-to-postpone-due/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) > [The first indication that we are killing our dreams is lack of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-first-indication-that-we-are-killing-our-dreams-is-lack-of-time/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The supposed great misery of our century is the lack of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-supposed-great-misery-of-our-century-is-the-lack-of-time/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Lack of prayer is the cause of lack of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/lack-of-prayer-is-the-cause-of-lack-of-time/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“The real problem of life is never a lack of time. The real problem of life - in my life - is lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voscamp/the-real-problem-of-life-is-never-a-lack-of-time-the-real-problem-of/) [Ann Voscamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voscamp/) > [It was lack of good scripts and lack of time for daily serials, for which I consciously stayed away from TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashok-saraf/it-was-lack-of-good-scripts-and-lack-of-time-for-daily-serials-for/) [Ashok Saraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashok-saraf/) > [“. . . according to Lem's Law, 'No one reads; if someone does read, he doesn't understand; if he understands, he immediately forgets' --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/according-to-lem-s-law-no-one-reads-if-someone-does-read-he-doesn-t/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [“He had meant to write to Gregory and say, I have seen such a sweet girl, I will find out who she is and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-had-meant-to-write-to-gregory-and-say-i-have-seen-such-a-sweet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [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/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More Concern quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/more-compassionate-mind-more-sense-of-concern-for-other-s-well-being/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. It's obviously a concern and I've been very careful with my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-james/i-just-have-to-deal-with-it-injuries-if-and-when-problems-happen-it-s/) [Greg James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-james/) > [Much has been said and continues to be said of what little concern the Turks had for the Acropolis treasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-mercouri/much-has-been-said-and-continues-to-be-said-of-what-little-concern/) [Melina Mercouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-mercouri/) Browse all 3,297 Concern quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well in our schools. My main concern is that an over-emphasis on testing and league tables has led to a lack of time and freedom for a true, imaginative and humane engagement with literature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concern" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/philip-pullman-525_concern_i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest_1807472.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and…” — Philip Pullman", "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": "Philip Pullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have maintained a passionate interest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me-2/#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 } } ] } ```