--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We imagine a school in which students and…" description: "\"We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their own ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png" --- # We imagine a school in which students and teachers… ![“We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their own visions … not one that that merely succeeds in making apathetic students satisfy minimal standards.” quote by Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png) > “We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their own visions … not one that that merely succeeds in making apathetic students satisfy minimal standards.” [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) ## 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 empower learners to pursue self‑directed, meaningful projects, fostering enthusiasm and growth beyond rote standards. **In simple terms:** Learning thrives when students follow their own visions. Key Takeaway Encourage self‑directed, creative learning. Themes education creativity self‑direction motivation growth Mood enthusiastic optimistic Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - classroom design - curriculum planning - teacher training - student‑led projects Key Concepts constructionism intrinsic motivation project‑based learning Questions to Reflect On - How can teachers balance freedom with necessary scaffolding? - What supports help students stay motivated? A Different Perspective May lack structure for those needing guidance; not all subjects suit open‑ended projects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Satisfying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfying/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Students And Teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students-and-teachers/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teacher and student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher-and-student/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Teaching, therefore, asks first of all the creation of a space where students and teachers can enter into a fearless communication with each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/teaching-therefore-asks-first-of-all-the-creation-of-a-space-where/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“What the teachers understand, students never understand and in the paper what we want them to understand they never understand so, apparently, students and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himmilicious/what-the-teachers-understand-students-never-understand-and-in-the/) Himmilicious > [“It felt like we were reliving the first day of the school year, when students and teachers do the get-to-know-you dance—teachers tell students something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/it-felt-like-we-were-reliving-the-first-day-of-the-school-year-when/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [I was quite the Mr Popular both among the students and teachers in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshaye-khanna/i-was-quite-the-mr-popular-both-among-the-students-and-teachers-in/) [Akshaye Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshaye-khanna/) > [I was fortunate to be at that school in an era in which encounters between students and teachers were encouraged; there were a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/i-was-fortunate-to-be-at-that-school-in-an-era-in-which-encounters/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [I get so much from having the opportunity to interface with the younger people and to bring information to them and to represent our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-get-so-much-from-having-the-opportunity-to-interface-with-the/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [“In my life I’ve been very lucky to travel around the world and see students and teachers in nearly two dozen countries—but the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/in-my-life-i-ve-been-very-lucky-to-travel-around-the-world-and-see/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [Instead of insulting our teachers and tearing down public education, I believe in a Kentucky where we put students and teachers first - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-beshear/instead-of-insulting-our-teachers-and-tearing-down-public-education-i/) [Andy Beshear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-beshear/) > [“Students, well intentioned or otherwise, are poorly served by the idea that students and teachers are intellectual and social equals and that a student’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/students-well-intentioned-or-otherwise-are-poorly-served-by-the-idea/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [We are all students and teachers in life, some will get the message and some will not, It all depends on who is open,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/we-are-all-students-and-teachers-in-life-some-will-get-the-message/) [Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/) > [We need more concept-development and active involvement, less tuning forks, pulleys, and friction formulas - students know they'll never use those. They need more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/we-need-more-concept-development-and-active-involvement-less-tuning/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“Imagine a school where students work so intensely that the world outside the essay or problem or experiment before them seems muffled and far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kenny/imagine-a-school-where-students-work-so-intensely-that-the-world/) [Deborah Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kenny/) > [Imagine a school with children that can read or write, but with teachers who cannot, and you have a metaphor of the Information Age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cochrane/imagine-a-school-with-children-that-can-read-or-write-but-with/) Peter Cochrane > [I definitely felt by the time I got to grad school - which was a great experience - I was like, 'What's the difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-schilling/i-definitely-felt-by-the-time-i-got-to-grad-school-which-was-a-great/) [Taylor Schilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-schilling/) ## More by Seymour Papert > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [It's not what you know about the computer that's important, but your ability to do things with it. By studying French in an academic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/it-s-not-what-you-know-about-the-computer-that-s-important-but-your/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [I prefer software where kids build something and run into problems they have to solve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/i-prefer-software-where-kids-build-something-and-run-into-problems/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [What the gears cannot do the computer might. The computer is the Proteus of machines. Its essence is its universality, its power to simulate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/what-the-gears-cannot-do-the-computer-might-the-computer-is-the/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [The reason most kids don't like school is not that the work is too hard, but that it is utterly boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/the-reason-most-kids-don-t-like-school-is-not-that-the-work-is-too/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [For what is important when we give children a theorem to use is not that they should memorize it. What matters most is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/for-what-is-important-when-we-give-children-a-theorem-to-use-is-not/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [We often treat children as if they're not very competent to do anything on their own. So we make them stop learning in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-often-treat-children-as-if-they-re-not-very-competent-to-do/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [I think Disney is a very interesting company, and it does have an extremely powerful means for projecting a certain way of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/i-think-disney-is-a-very-interesting-company-and-it-does-have-an/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [One might say the computer is being used to program the child. In my vision, the child programs the computer, and in doing so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/one-might-say-the-computer-is-being-used-to-program-the-child-in-my/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [The goal is to teach in such a way as to produce the most learning from the least teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/the-goal-is-to-teach-in-such-a-way-as-to-produce-the-most-learning/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce computer people who know a lot about computers or a piece of software but they don't help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend-to-produce-computer-people/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Our goal in education should be to foster the ability to use the computer in everything you do, even if you don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/our-goal-in-education-should-be-to-foster-the-ability-to-use-the/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [This frenzy about cyberporn indicates some deeper fear of adults as they see kids become more independent and learn things they never learned. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/this-frenzy-about-cyberporn-indicates-some-deeper-fear-of-adults-as/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Rather than pushing children to think like adults, we might do better to remember that they are great learners and to try harder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/rather-than-pushing-children-to-think-like-adults-we-might-do-better/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Working with the computer gives rise to many opportunities to transcend asocial behavior, because it produces exciting and visually interesting things to share, whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/working-with-the-computer-gives-rise-to-many-opportunities-to/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) [Explore all 56 Seymour Papert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) ## More Apathetic quotes > [We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) > [My generation in the UK, they're very apathetic, a lot of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-gilmore/my-generation-in-the-uk-they-re-very-apathetic-a-lot-of-them/) [Thea Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-gilmore/) > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Does anyone really go into nursing intending to be apathetic, cold and removed from suffering? I find that very difficult to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/does-anyone-really-go-into-nursing-intending-to-be-apathetic-cold-and/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) > [Death: the only true emotion felt in an apathetic world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/death-the-only-true-emotion-felt-in-an-apathetic-world/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Thwarted, or starved, in the important objects proper to young capacities, the boys and young men naturally find or invent deviant objects for themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/thwarted-or-starved-in-the-important-objects-proper-to-young/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Even as I'm shoveling up my hooter, I realize the sad truth. Coke bores me, It bores us all. We're jaded cunts, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/even-as-i-m-shoveling-up-my-hooter-i-realize-the-sad-truth-coke-bores/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [From arts, to literature, to science, to the founding of Christian institutions, all of that has its roots in a biblical worldview, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/from-arts-to-literature-to-science-to-the-founding-of-christian/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [“I don’t know, apathetic bloody planet, I’ve no sympathy at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-don-t-know-apathetic-bloody-planet-i-ve-no-sympathy-at-all/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I am beginning to respect the apathetic days. Perhaps they're a necessary pause: better to give in to them than to fight them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-am-beginning-to-respect-the-apathetic-days-perhaps-they-re-a/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The teenage pregnancy is such a tragic thing. It is such a sad and tragic thing because the children who have children do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/the-teenage-pregnancy-is-such-a-tragic-thing-it-is-such-a-sad-and/) [Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/) > [“Empathy nurtures wisdom. Apathy cultivates ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/empathy-nurtures-wisdom-apathy-cultivates-ignorance/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) Browse all 123 Apathetic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their own visions … not one that that merely succeeds in making apathetic students satisfy minimal standards.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seymour Papert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apathetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdf/seymour-papert-12175_apathetic_we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-an_761433.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits…” — Seymour Papert", "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": "Seymour Papert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We imagine a school in which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and-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 } } ] } ```