--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Education in my family was not merely…" description: "\"Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'etre.\" — Steven Chu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg" --- # Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was… ![“Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'etre.” quote by Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg) > “Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'etre.” [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education is portrayed as the fundamental purpose of the family, shaping identity and future. **In simple terms:** Family sees education as its core purpose. Key Takeaway Prioritize learning in family life. Themes family education identity purpose Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - parenting - school choices - career guidance Key Concepts human capital intergenerational values social mobility Questions to Reflect On - How can families balance education with wellbeing? - What values accompany academic success? A Different Perspective Overemphasis may pressure children. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-family-799812/) [Emphasized Raison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emphasized-raison-5553027/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-merely-5553028/) [My family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-family/) [Raison d'etre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raison-d-etre/) ## Related quotes > [Education in our family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'etre ... In this family of accomplished scholars, I was to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-our-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'être. Virtually all of our aunts and uncles had Ph.D.s in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [We had great faith that with patience, understanding, and education, that my family and I could be helpful in changing their minds and attitudes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-white/we-had-great-faith-that-with-patience-understanding-and-education/) [Ryan White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-white/) > [Thankfully, I was able to go to Marquette University and get my education, a Catholic education, so I could please my family, because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-pudi/thankfully-i-was-able-to-go-to-marquette-university-and-get-my/) [Danny Pudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-pudi/) > [The most important thing for me is education, and my family were really supportive in making sure I did the best I could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-alexander-arnold/the-most-important-thing-for-me-is-education-and-my-family-were/) [Trent Alexander-Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-alexander-arnold/) > [Trying to demonstrate good leadership was not our raison d'etre. We're still just trying to make a comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-hunt/trying-to-demonstrate-good-leadership-was-not-our-raison-d-etre-we-re/) [Brendan Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-hunt/) > [“To Mr. Blot, who went through life an unconscious example of the raison d'être of the British Empire, a shipwreck was merely one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-otis-skinner/to-mr-blot-who-went-through-life-an-unconscious-example-of-the-raison/) [Cornelia Otis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-otis-skinner/) > [Edward Snowden is anything but narcissist. In fact, I wonder every day how he could come up with the courage, muster the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wilkerson/edward-snowden-is-anything-but-narcissist-in-fact-i-wonder-every-day/) [Lawrence Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wilkerson/) > [Men forget that a value judgment has a raison d'être only as a preparation for an action and a meaning solely in relation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-forget-that-a-value-judgment-has-a-raison-d-tre-only-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The novel has accompanied man uninterruptedly and faithfully since the beginning of the Modern Era. It was then that the "passion to know," which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-novel-has-accompanied-man-uninterruptedly-and-faithfully-since/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Government and state can never be perfect because they owe their raison d'être to the imperfection of man and can attain their end, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/government-and-state-can-never-be-perfect-because-they-owe-their/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“The personal checks and balances that most of us bring to bear when we are employed in other activities - we ask ourselves if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghuram-g-rajan/the-personal-checks-and-balances-that-most-of-us-bring-to-bear-when/) [Raghuram G. Rajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghuram-g-rajan/) > [“We are women. We talk. We all do. I love to talk. It's my reason for being. No. It's my raison d'etre. Now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-valtsioti/we-are-women-we-talk-we-all-do-i-love-to-talk-it-s-my-reason-for/) [Suzy Valtsioti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-valtsioti/) > [I try to find stories that I would think that everyone would find interesting, and just a good entertaining story, and then if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/i-try-to-find-stories-that-i-would-think-that-everyone-would-find/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [The "social contract," in the only sense in which it is not completely mythical, is a contract among conquerors, which loses its raison d'être…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-social-contract-in-the-only-sense-in-which-it-is-not-completely/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Steven Chu > [Coal is My Worst Nightmare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/coal-is-my-worst-nightmare/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [There were only two other Chinese families in this town of 25,000, but to our parents, the determining factor was the quality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/there-were-only-two-other-chinese-families-in-this-town-of-25-000-but/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [If other countries don't impose a cost on carbon, then we will be at a disadvantage...we would look at considering perhaps duties that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/if-other-countries-don-t-impose-a-cost-on-carbon-then-we-will-be-at-a/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [Since I walked in the door as secretary of energy, I've been doing everything in our powers to do what we can to reduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/since-i-walked-in-the-door-as-secretary-of-energy-i-ve-been-doing/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [Occasionally, I would focus on a particular school project and become obsessed with, what seemed to my mother, to be trivial details instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/occasionally-i-would-focus-on-a-particular-school-project-and-become/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'être. Virtually all of our aunts and uncles had Ph.D.s in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [Let me state what the official IPCC prediction is: Sea levels could go up as much as three-quarters of a meter in this century,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/let-me-state-what-the-official-ipcc-prediction-is-sea-levels-could-go/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [For the better part of my last semester at Garden City High, I constructed a physical pendulum and used it to make a "precision"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/for-the-better-part-of-my-last-semester-at-garden-city-high-i/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [The biggest gains, in terms of decreasing the country's energy bill, the amount of carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere, and our dependency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/the-biggest-gains-in-terms-of-decreasing-the-country-s-energy-bill/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [I approached the bulk of my schoolwork as a chore rather than an intellectual adventure. The tedium was relieved by a few courses that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/i-approached-the-bulk-of-my-schoolwork-as-a-chore-rather-than-an/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [In the summer after kindergarten, a friend introduced me to the joys of building plastic model airplanes and warships. By the fourth grade, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/in-the-summer-after-kindergarten-a-friend-introduced-me-to-the-joys/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [The ideal protective layer for a lithium metal anode needs to be chemically stable to protect against the chemical reactions with the electrolyte and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/the-ideal-protective-layer-for-a-lithium-metal-anode-needs-to-be/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [By the fourth grade, I graduated to an erector set and spent many happy hours constructing devices of unknown purpose where the main design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/by-the-fourth-grade-i-graduated-to-an-erector-set-and-spent-many/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [Of course we don't want the price of gasoline to go up, we want it to go down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/of-course-we-don-t-want-the-price-of-gasoline-to-go-up-we-want-it-to/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) > [My physics teacher, Thomas Miner was particularly gifted. To this day, I remember how he introduced the subject of physics. He told us we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/my-physics-teacher-thomas-miner-was-particularly-gifted-to-this-day-i/) [Steven Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) [Explore all 43 Steven Chu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/) ## 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. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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. (Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-hilda-doolittle/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'etre.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Chu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/steven-chu-15304_education_education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-em_3133705.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Education in my family was not merely emphasized, it was our raison d'etre.” — Steven Chu", "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": "Steven Chu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-chu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Education in my family was not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-chu/education-in-my-family-was-not-merely-emphasized-it-was-our-raison-d-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 } } ] } ```