It is much easier to condemn a child than to understand a child.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiRead
I felt grateful to Ataturk that my parents were so well educated, that they weren't held back by superstition or religion, that they were true scientists who taught me how to read when I was three and never doubted that I could become a writer.
Interpretation
This quote expresses gratitude for having educated parents who encouraged scientific thinking and literacy.
Elif Batuman reflects on the immense gratitude she feels towards Ataturk for the education her parents received. Their background in science, free from the constraints of superstition and religion, helped foster her own intellectual development, allowing her to read at a young age and instilling a belief in her potential as a writer. This highlights the significance of education and supportive parenting in shaping one's future.
In practice
In a graduation speech celebrating the importance of education and family influence, one might reference this quote.
It is much easier to condemn a child than to understand a child.
The content of most textbooks is perishable, but the tools of self-directedness serve one well over time.
We mistake being able to get lots of information from everywhere very quickly with actually getting knowledge.
'Good English' is whatever educated people talk; so that what is good in one place or time would not be so in another.
One of the chief obstacles to intelligence is credulity, and credulity could be enormously diminished by instructions as to the prevalent forms of mendacity. Credulity is a greater evil in the present day than it ever was before, because, owing to the growth of education, it is much easier than it used to be to spread misinformation, and, owing to democracy, the spread of misinformation is more important than in former times to the holders of power.
I seldom read anything that is not of a factual nature because I want to invest my time wisely in the things that will improve my life. Don't misunderstand; there is nothing wrong with reading purely for the joy of it. Novels have their place, but biographies of famous men and women contain information that can change lives.
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