Philosophical and Psychological Foundations of Education

QUOTATIONS BY TOPIC

INTEREST

The natural temper of children disposes their minds to wander. Novelty alone takes them; whatever that presents, they are presently eager to have a taste of, and are as soon satisfied with it. ~ John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education

If [children] come not to their books with some kind of liking and relish, it is no wonder their thoughts should be perpetually shifting from what disgusts them, and seek better entertainment in more pleasing objects, after which they will unavoidably be gadding. ~ John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education

To keep them where you have called them, you must make the subject too interesting for them to wander again. And for that there is one prescription; but the prescription, like all our prescriptions, is abstract, and, to get practical results from it, you must couple it with mother-wit. The prescription is that the subject must be made to show new aspects of itself; to prompt new questions; in a word, to change. ~ William James, Talks to Teachers

The most durable impressions are those on account of which we speak or act, or else are inwardly convulsed. ~ William James, Talks to Teachers

It is nonsense to suppose that every step in education can be interesting. The fighting impulse must often be appealed to. ~ William James, Talks to Teachers

The teacher has further to comfort the mind of the pupil by putting before his eyes the logical connections between ideas which the analytical or deductive power of the pupil's mind is perhaps not strong enough to establish by itself. ~ Jacques Maritain, Education at the Crossroads

When a story captures our interest, we cannot resist the temptation to make its parts do so. That is what creates narrative's hermeneutic compulsion. ~ Jerome Bruner, The Culture of Education, p. 137

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Last updated:
September 19, 2008 4:23 PM