We read to find out what the world is like, to experience lots of lives, not just the one we live. If it is true that our lives are chaotic and we crave a shape, stories are the shapes that we put on experience, containing all the wisdom in the world. We can even choose what kind of wisdom suits us.
Interpretation
Reading allows us to explore different perspectives and experiences beyond our own lives.
This quote emphasizes the importance of reading as a means to gain insight into various human experiences and the world at large. It suggests that stories are not just entertainment; they provide structure and wisdom to our chaotic lives, allowing us to select the lessons that resonate with us personally.
In practice
During a book club discussion when exploring character motivations.
One reason education undoes belief is its teaching of evolution; Darwin's own drift from orthodoxy to agnosticism was symptomatic. Martin Lings is probably right in saying that more cases of loss of religious faith are to be traced to the theory of evolution ... than to anything else.
The study of history is useful to the historian by teaching him his ignorance of women.
Upon books the collective education of the race depends; they are the sole instruments of registering, perpetuating and transmitting thought.
Because human development is the most specific and exalted mission of woman, studies in anthropology and theory of pedagogy are essential in girls' education.
We urgently need a paradigm shift in our concept of the purposes and practices of education. We need to leave behind the concept of education as a passport to more money and higher status in the future and replace it with a concept of education as an ongoing process that enlists the tremendous energies and creativity of schoolchildren in rebuilding and respiriting our communities and our cities now, in the present.
Too many young musicians today want to win polls before they learn their instruments.
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