Derek Bok Quotes

Quotes about:

• If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

  Derek Bok

  Inspirational, Funny, Graduation

  Attributed in Paul Dickson, The Official Rules (1978). An earlier occurrence, without attribution to any individual, was in Wash. Post, 6 Oct. 1975.

  98 Copy quote

• Again and again, universities have put a low priority on the very programs and initiatives that are needed most to increase productivity and competitiveness, improve the quality of government, and overcome the problems of illiteracy, miseducation, and unemployment.

  Derek Bok

  Government, Priorities, Quality

  Derek Curtis Bok (1990). “Universities and the Future of America”, p.41

  51 Copy quote

• If you think the cost of education is high, think about ignorance.

  Derek Bok

  Ignorance, Thinking, Cost

  13 Copy quote

• An educated man must have a "curiosity in exploring the unfamiliar and unexpected, an open-mindedness in entertaining opposing points of view, tolerance for the ambiguity that surrounds so many important issues, and a willingness to make the best decisions he can in the face of uncertainty and doubt".

  Derek Bok

  Men, Views, Issues

  12 Copy quote

• There is far too much law for those who can afford it and far too little for those who cannot.

  Derek Bok

  Law, Littles, Too Much

  "A Flawed System," Harvard Magazine, May-June 1983

  21 Copy quote

• Efforts to develop critical thinking falter in practice because too many professors still lecture to passive audiences instead of challenging students to apply what they have learned to new questions.

  Derek Bok

  Thinking, Practice, Effort

  9 Copy quote

• I suspect that no community will become humane and caring by restricting what its members can say.

  Derek Bok

  Caring, Community, Members

  9 Copy quote

• I think one thing that does cause unhappiness is protracted anxiety and worry.

  Derek Bok

  Thinking, Worry, Anxiety

  "Should Governments Make Happiness A Priority?". Interview with Alison St. John, www.kpbs.org. April 26, 2011.

  18 Copy quote

• I think any self-respecting educational institution ought to judge its policies by its best estimate of what their long-term consequences for their students and for the society will be.

  Derek Bok

  Educational, Thinking, Self

  12 Copy quote

• Universities are institutions run by amateurs to train professionals.

  Derek Bok

  Running, School, Institutions

  9 Copy quote

• The most obvious purpose of college education is to help students acquire information and knowledge by acquainting them with facts, theories, generalizations, principles, and the like. This purpose scarcely requires justification.

  Derek Bok

  College, Principles, Purpose

  10 Copy quote

• The oldest of the arts and the youngest of the professions.

  Derek Bok

  Art, Profession

  9 Copy quote

• Education, and I regret to say this as an educator, but there's no indication that education has a direct effect on happiness.

  Derek Bok

  Regret, Direct Effect, Educator

  "Should Governments Make Happiness A Priority?". Interview with Alison St. John, www.kpbs.org. April 26, 2011.

  7 Copy quote

• There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior.

  Derek Bok

  Thinking, Differences, Issues

  10 Copy quote

• Although professors regard improving critical thinking as the most important goal of college, tests reveal that seniors who began their studies with average critical thinking skills have progressed only from the 50th percentile of entering freshmen to about the 69th percentile.

  Derek Bok

  Senior, College, Thinking

  8 Copy quote

• As countries embrace mass higher education, the cost of maintaining universities increases dramatically relative to an elite system.

  Derek Bok

  Country, Cost, Maintaining

  53 Copy quote

• The first country to adopt happiness as an official goal of public policy is the tiny little country of Bhutan in Asia near China and India.

  Derek Bok

  Country, Bhutan, Goal

  "Should Governments Make Happiness A Priority?". Interview with Alison St. John, www.kpbs.org. April 26, 2011.

  21 Copy quote

• I don't think the alternative to Yale is jail by any means. On the other hand, there is a mass of research that does show that there are real advantages to your subsequent career in going to selective institutions.

  Derek Bok

  Real, Mean, Thinking

  10 Copy quote

• For some students, especially in the sciences, the knowledge gained in college may be directly relevant to graduate study. For almost all students, a liberal arts education works in subtle ways to create a web of knowledge that will illumine problems and enlighten judgment on innumerable occasions in later life.

  Derek Bok

  Art, College, May

  5 Copy quote

• Ever since economists revealed how much universities contribute to economic growth, politicians have paid close attention to higher education.

  Derek Bok

  Growth, Attention, Politician

  4 Copy quote

• Greater inequality in Europe has made people less happy.

  Derek Bok

  Europe, People, Made

  "Should Governments Make Happiness A Priority?". Interview with Alison St. John, www.kpbs.org. April 26, 2011.

  4 Copy quote

• Despite the hours spent debating different models of general education, the choices faculties make rarely lead to any significant difference in the cognitive development of undergraduates.

  Derek Bok

  Differences, Choices, Different

  4 Copy quote

• Colleges and universities, for all the benefits they bring, accomplish far less for their students than they should. Many students graduate without being able to write well enough to satisfy their employers... reason clearly or perform competently in analyzing complex, non-technical problems.

  Derek Bok

  Writing, College, Benefits

  Derek Bok (2009). “Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More”, p.8, Princeton University Press

  4 Copy quote

• The college that takes students with modest entering abilities and improves their abilities substantially contributes more than the school that takes very bright students and helps them develop only modestly.

  Derek Bok

  School, College, Entering

  4 Copy quote

• I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.

  Derek Bok

  Writing, College, Thinking

  4 Copy quote

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