Quote of the Day: Ernest Dimnet on Education

If you’ve been looking for permission to loosen your grip, on a project, a person you’re mentoring, or even your own self-improvement, let this line be the gentle nudge you need: “Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves.”

The first half is a sober reminder: guidance matters. Education is more than information; it’s structure, language, standards, and a shared map of reality. When we teach foundations, how to read, reason, listen, and contribute, we give a young mind (or a new teammate, or our future self) the tools to move through the world with competence and confidence.

But the second half is where wisdom lives. “Left to educate themselves” doesn’t mean neglect; it means space. Space to try, to choose, to follow curiosity down odd corridors, to make mistakes that become memory. Autonomy turns learning from compliance into ownership. It builds the muscles that matter most: self-questioning, problem-framing, persistence, and the quiet courage to say, “I don’t know, yet.” That’s the pathway to growth that can’t be handed over in a lesson plan.

Ernest Dimnet, a French priest and writer, spent his life translating intellectual and spiritual insight into practical counsel, helping readers cultivate inner discipline without losing their freedom of mind.

Today, try a simple experiment: teach one clear principle, then step back and ask one open question, “What do you think we should try next?”, and let the answer lead. May you guide with care, and grant enough room for wisdom to take root.