"Since every effort in our educational life seems to be directed toward making of the child a being foreign to itself, it must of necessity produce individuals foreign to one another, and in everlasting antagonism with each other"
- Emma Goldman
About this Quote
This quote by Emma Goldman speaks with the idea that our academic system is stopping working to nurture the specific and instead is producing a homogenous society of people who are foreign to themselves and to each other. She is recommending that by concentrating on conformity and standardization, we are developing a society of people who are unable to connect to each other and who are in consistent conflict. This is a powerful statement that speaks with the need for education to be more customized and to concentrate on developing the special skills and abilities of each trainee. It is a pointer that education should have to do with more than simply passing tests and accomplishing good grades, however need to have to do with helping trainees to become the best variations of themselves.
"Life is life - whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man's own advantage"