Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.
Alex HaleyRead
I certainly wasn't seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students. My homemade education gave me, with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America. Not long ago, an English writer telephoned me, asking questions. One was, "What's your alma mater?" I told him, "Books.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True education comes from self-study and personal experience rather than formal credentials.
In this quote, Alex Haley emphasizes the significance of self-education over formal schooling, highlighting that his real learning came from the books he read and the personal insights he gained. He reflects on how this journey of unstructured learning made him more aware of the struggles faced by the black community, suggesting that true wisdom is often found outside traditional academic settings.
Themes
EducationSelf-StudyWisdomBooksAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about lifelong learning, you could say, 'As Alex Haley put it, my alma mater is books.'
More from Alex Haley
All quotes →Tying the little folks with the older folks is a great and powerful tool to preserve and to protect the family and the individual.
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That's what happens with writing. Ingredients bubble and cook. Material becomes substance.
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I think one of the most fascinating things you can do after you learn about your own people is to study something about the history and culture of other people.
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In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.
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Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you.
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