--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In nine months, a group of children left…" description: "\"In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer - in any language - would reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/sugata-mitra-14591_alone_in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left_2122761.png" --- # In nine months, a group of children left alone with a… ![“In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer - in any language - would reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.” quote by Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/sugata-mitra-14591_alone_in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left_2122761.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/sugata-mitra-14591_alone_in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left_2122761.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/sugata-mitra-14591_alone_in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left_2122761.png) > “In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer - in any language - would reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.” [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children can achieve functional literacy and basic office skills through self‑directed learning with computers, regardless of language. **In simple terms:** Kids can learn basic skills alone with computers. Key Takeaway Provide access to technology for self‑driven education. Themes education technology self‑directed learning Mood optimistic inspirational Type educational technological When to use this quote - rural schools - after‑school programs - home learning Key Concepts digital divide cognitive development global literacy Questions to Reflect On - What resources support self‑directed learning? - How to ensure quality outcomes? A Different Perspective Access alone may not address deeper educational gaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-left-369418/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computer language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-language/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/group/) [Group Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/group-children-287217/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-alone/) [Left Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-computer-369419/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Nine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nine/) [Nine months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nine-months/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Reach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reach/) [Same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same/) [Secretary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secretary/) [Standard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standard/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [My perspective is that, when you're a kid, if your audience is a group of children or teenagers, you do have some level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-bledel/my-perspective-is-that-when-you-re-a-kid-if-your-audience-is-a-group/) [Alexis Bledel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-bledel/) > [They love 3-D. It's fun to watch a movie in 3-D with your children or with a group of children because you see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/they-love-3-d-it-s-fun-to-watch-a-movie-in-3-d-with-your-children-or-2/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [They love 3-D. It's fun to watch a movie in 3-D with your children, or with a group of children, because, from time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/they-love-3-d-it-s-fun-to-watch-a-movie-in-3-d-with-your-children-or/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Don't make generalisations about any group of children. For years I have felt angry with those who argue that Shakespeare and the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/don-t-make-generalisations-about-any-group-of-children-for-years-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [“Maya knows that her mother left her in Island Books. But maybe that’s what happens to all children at a certain age. Some children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/maya-knows-that-her-mother-left-her-in-island-books-but-maybe-that-s/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Too many of our children are being left behind, especially in our inner city schools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/too-many-of-our-children-are-being-left-behind-especially-in-our/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [NCLB should be called "More Children Left behind".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/nclb-should-be-called-more-children-left-behind/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [“and they realize it is just the two of them now, when the father has gone and the children are left alone in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/and-they-realize-it-is-just-the-two-of-them-now-when-the-father-has/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Michael and I will always be connected with the kids. I will always be there for him. I will always be there for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-rowe/michael-and-i-will-always-be-connected-with-the-kids-i-will-always-be/) [Debbie Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-rowe/) > [“was particularly hard for women now, when there were so many children left without”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/was-particularly-hard-for-women-now-when-there-were-so-many-children/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Children left their old parents at home and scattered in all directions in search of money. It was hard on an old woman with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/children-left-their-old-parents-at-home-and-scattered-in-all/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“They came with their children, for no one left the children behind - it was for the children they had come, wanting to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/they-came-with-their-children-for-no-one-left-the-children-behind-it/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) > [Personally, I think that children should be left alone, they should be given an opportunity to grow up, to become aware of themselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/personally-i-think-that-children-should-be-left-alone-they-should-be/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“Sometimes children must be left alone to be still and silent, and to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/sometimes-children-must-be-left-alone-to-be-still-and-silent-and-to-do/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) ## More by Sugata Mitra > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [My wish for humanity is to invent a way to communicate between us and whatever comes next. And in the end that we the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/my-wish-for-humanity-is-to-invent-a-way-to-communicate-between-us-and/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Too many pupils at schools in the U.K. want to have careers as footballers or TV hosts, or models, because that's what they're constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/too-many-pupils-at-schools-in-the-u-k-want-to-have-careers-as/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [If children know there is someone standing over them who knows all the answers, they are less inclined to find the answers for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/if-children-know-there-is-someone-standing-over-them-who-knows-all/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [It would be better, in a way, if any adults present were completely uneducated. 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It’s not about making learning happen; it’s about letting it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/we-need-to-look-at-learning-as-the-product-of-educational-self/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Education is a self-organizing system, where learning is an emergent phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/education-is-a-self-organizing-system-where-learning-is-an-emergent/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Learning is the new skill. 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