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The central task of education is to implant a will and a facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and children are students together. In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.

Eric Hoffer#100

GrowthEducationLearningChangeFutureSkills

About this quote

What does it mean?
Education should foster the ability to learn rather than just accumulating knowledge, as learners adapt to change while the learned become obsolete.
In plain terms
Teaching people how to learn is more important than teaching them facts.
What can you take from it?
Focus on building learning habits rather than just memorizing facts.

Where it applies

  • career development
  • personal growth
  • organizational training

Putting it to work

  • prioritize skill acquisition over credentialing
  • practice lifelong learning

Questions to consider

  • What am I learning to become?
  • Does my education prepare me for change?

Another view

Foundational knowledge is still necessary to learn effectively.

More from Eric Hoffer

  1. The Savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets. There are simil…

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  2. It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn.

    Permalink to quote #101
  3. Social stability is the product of an equilibrium between a vigorous majority and violent minorities. Disorder does not come from an increased inner pressure o…

    Permalink to quote #98

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