One of my favorite quotes about learning is from Donald Oliver, who writes in Education and Community (published in 1976, it’s been out of print for years): “Knowledge, treasured as the gift of education, is really only useful as a catalyst for the active use of the student’s creativity. Not used for this purpose, knowledge simply amounts to inert ideas.” Learning is a process where we become more of ourselves, shedding what doesn’t fit and moving into what does.
To read more go to my book, Getting Messy. A discussion of Oliver’s quote and others is in Chapter Two.