"Under these conditions it is not astonishing that learning was highly prized; in fact, my parents made sacrifices to be able to give their children a good education"

This quote by Simon van der Meer speaks with the significance of education in his family. It is clear that his parents valued discovering and were willing to make sacrifices in order to offer their kids with an excellent education. This recommends that the conditions in which Simon and his siblings were raised were hard, and that education was viewed as a way to improve their lives. It is not unexpected that his parents put such a high value on education, as it is often seen as a way to break the cycle of poverty and provide a much better future for one's children. Education can open doors to chances that may not have actually been available otherwise, and it is clear that Simon's parents understood this. Their desire to make sacrifices in order to offer their children a good education speaks with the significance they put on knowing and the value they saw in it.