Quotessence
Home / Authors / Seymour Papert
Seymour Papert

Seymour Papert Quotes

Mathematician

Filter quotes by topic

AllComputerKidsThinkingSchoolChildrenIfsPeopleWayTeachingShouldIdeasKnowsLearningAdultsCertainGamesProgrammingTeachWantComputer Programming

Famous Seymour Papert Quotes

“We often treat children as if they're not very competent to do anything on their own. So we make them stop learning in a natural way - by exploring. Logo [the computer programming language ] allows them to find their way around the computer, as they would find their way around the house, uncontaminated by the bureaucracies of schools.”

IfsWayChildrenSchoolHouseLanguageNaturalComputerTreatsProgrammingExploringBureaucracyCompetentComputer ProgrammingProgramming LanguagesLogos
Author:Seymour Papert
Create image

“We should think about what we mean by literacy. If you say, "He's a very literate person," what you really mean is that he knows a lot, thinks a lot, has a certain frame of mind that comes through reading and knowing about various subjects.The major route open to literacy has been through reading and writing text. But we're seeing new media offer richer ways to explore knowledge and communicate, through sound and pictures.”

IfsThinkingKnowsWayShouldWritingMindMeanPersonsHas BeensCertainReadingSoundKnowingSeeingSubjectsMediaOffersMajorsVariousCommunicateRoutesLiteracyReally MeanReading And WritingFrame Of MindNew Media
Author:Seymour Papert
Create image

“Educators who have said, "We don't like that, so we'll continue to teach as if it's not happening," are just aggravating the gap between what happens in schools and what happens in the real world. Because of their personalities, or for cultural reasons, some kids might better express themselves through moving images and sound.”

IfsWorldSaidRealReasonMightHappensKidsSchoolMovingSoundTeachPersonalityHappeningsGapsReal WorldEducatorAggravating
Author:Seymour Papert
Create image

“Undoubtedly, there are kids with intellectual deficiencies or neurological problems. But a lot of kids shunted into special education classes are deficient only in a willingness to conform to the school pattern.They are just honest, brave kids who say, "I just won't take that, and I don't believe in what you're doing." If you give them an alternative to the usual classroom, they break free of a lot of inhibitions and bad associations, and they begin to learn.”

IfsGivingBelieveProblemKidsSchoolClassBreakSpecialHonestIntellectualBraveDon't BelievePatternsAlternativesWillingnessUsualAssociationClassroomConformBad AssDeficiencyInhibitionsSpecial Education
Author:Seymour Papert
Create image

“This frenzy about cyberporn indicates some deeper fear of adults as they see kids become more independent and learn things they never learned. I think those fears also reflect a failure to communicate. Parents should be able to say to their kids: "There is stuff out there that we don't look at, and if you find yourself looking at it or someone approaching you about it, then let's talk about it."”

IfsThinkingShouldLooksKidsAbleStuffParentAdultsIndependentCommunicateDeeperFinding YourselfFrenzy
Author:Seymour Papert
Create image

“I do think that we'd do better if we just offered all the bureaucrats in the Department of Education very attractive early retirements. But whether you want to abolish the department is another matter. Maybe there's room for recruiting a lot of visionary people who would do very good things: develop new techniques, new ideas, foster innovative models, disseminate those ideas.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWantIdeasMatterRoomsModelsGood ThingsVery GoodTechniqueAttractiveDepartmentRetirementNew IdeasInnovativeVisionariesAbolishBureaucrats
Author:Seymour Papert
Create image