"People commonly educate their children as they build their houses, according to some plan they think beautiful, without considering whether it is suited to the purposes for which they are designed"
- Mary Wortley Montagu
About this Quote
In this quote, Mary Wortley Montagu compares the procedure of informing children to developing a home. She suggests that just as individuals carefully prepare and design their homes to be visually pleasing, they likewise tend to educate their children in a similar manner. However, she points out that this technique may not always work, as it might not take into account the specific requirements and functions of the child. Montagu implies that parents need to not just follow societal standards or personal preferences when it comes to their kids's education, but rather consider what will truly benefit and fit their specific child.
"Raising children is an incredibly hard and risky business in which no cumulative wisdom is gained: each generation repeats the mistakes the previous one made"