---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What then is the purpose of national…"
description: "\"What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it is better to start by looking to the lovely ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png"
---

#  What then is the purpose of national education? Rather…

![“What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it is better to start by looking to the lovely child who sits on your knee and ask yourself: What can I do to assure this child will be able to lead the happiest life possible?” quote by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png)

> “What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it is better to start by looking to the lovely child who sits on your knee and ask yourself: What can I do to assure this child will be able to lead the happiest life possible?”

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

## 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 focus on nurturing a child's happiness and potential rather than abstract theories.

**In simple terms:** Teach for a child's happiness and future.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize children's well‑being in educational goals.

Themes

education child development purpose

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- parenting
- curriculum design
- policy making
- teacher training

Key Concepts

humanistic pedagogy holistic learning well‑being

Questions to Reflect On

- What policies best support each child's flourishing?
- How can teachers assess happiness effectively?

A Different Perspective

Balancing societal needs with individual happiness is complex.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/)

## Related quotes

> [Begging on my knee ask God to give me one more chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/begging-on-my-knee-ask-god-to-give-me-one-more-chance/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The need to assure that every child has the opportunity afforded by good teachers is urgent. As urgent as the need to be well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowell-milken/the-need-to-assure-that-every-child-has-the-opportunity-afforded-by/)

[Lowell Milken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lowell-milken/)

> [I don't know if I'm a national education figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-don-t-know-if-i-m-a-national-education-figure/)

[Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/)

> [The National Education Association is the al-Qaida of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/the-national-education-association-is-the-al-qaida-of-education/)

[Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/)

> [National education to be truly national must reflect the national condition for the time being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/national-education-to-be-truly-national-must-reflect-the-national/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Someone said I have had my popularity diminished by getting into the controversy of national education. Perhaps they are right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lam/someone-said-i-have-had-my-popularity-diminished-by-getting-into-the/)

[Carrie Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lam/)

> [Most of our competitor nations around the world have a national education system and America is the only major nation in the world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glenn/most-of-our-competitor-nations-around-the-world-have-a-national/)

[John Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glenn/)

> [ “Today, our most important and most productive task is the national education \[unification and modernization\] affairs. We have to be successful in national education… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atat-rk/today-our-most-important-and-most-productive-task-is-the-national/)

Atatürk

> [I envy neither the heart nor the head of any legislator who has been born to an inheritance of privileges, who has behind him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-envy-neither-the-heart-nor-the-head-of-any-legislator-who-has-been/)

[Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/)

> [I confess that for fifteen years my efforts in education, and my hopes of success in establishing a system of national education, have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cobden/i-confess-that-for-fifteen-years-my-efforts-in-education-and-my-hopes/)

[Richard Cobden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cobden/)

> [“The modulating principle of “salary according to merit” has not failed to tempt national education itself. Indeed, just as the corporation replaces the factory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/the-modulating-principle-of-salary-according-to-merit-has-not-failed/)

[Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/)

> [The way I want to try and end private schools is by making our national education service so good you wouldn't want to waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rayner/the-way-i-want-to-try-and-end-private-schools-is-by-making-our/)

[Angela Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rayner/)

> [The fear of speculation, the ostensible rush from the theoretical to the practical, brings about the same shallowness in action that it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-wilhelm-joseph-schelling/the-fear-of-speculation-the-ostensible-rush-from-the-theoretical-to/)

[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-wilhelm-joseph-schelling/)

> [The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pace-of-science-forces-the-pace-of-technique-theoretical-physics/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [Close contact between science and the practice of collective farms and State farms creates inexhaustible opportunities for the development of theoretical knowledge, enabling us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/close-contact-between-science-and-the-practice-of-collective-farms/)

[Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/)

## More by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi

> [The essence of education is not to transfer knowledge; it is to guide the learning process, to put responsibility for study in the student's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/the-essence-of-education-is-not-to-transfer-knowledge-it-is-to-guide/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

> [Cooperative living can develop only as individual persons become able to see their own weaknesses and strengths as well as the weaknesses and strengthen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/cooperative-living-can-develop-only-as-individual-persons-become-able/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

> [True happiness comes only through sharing in the trials and successes of other persons and of our community. Hence it is essential that any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/true-happiness-comes-only-through-sharing-in-the-trials-and-successes/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

> [To not advance is to retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/to-not-advance-is-to-retreat/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

[Explore all 5 Tsunesaburo Makiguchi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it is better to start by looking to the lovely child who sits on your knee and ask yourself: What can I do to assure this child will be able to lead the happiest life possible?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tsunesaburo Makiguchi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-education-rather-than-devise/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-education-rather-than-devise/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_able_what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-edu_2016029.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it…” — Tsunesaburo Makiguchi",
                "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": "Tsunesaburo Makiguchi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What then is the purpose of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-education-rather-than-devise/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-education-rather-than-devise/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
