Description

There’s a scene in the film adaptation of Muriel Spark’s classic, The
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, during which Head Mistress McKay calls Miss
Brodie to her office to chastise Miss Brodie for her somewhat unorthodox
teaching methods.1 Head Mistress McKay comments on the precocity of
Miss Brodie’s students. Miss Brodie accepts this as a compliment, not a
criticism and says:
“To me education is a leading out. The word education comes from

the root ‘ex,’ meaning ‘out,’ and ‘duco,’ ‘I lead.’ To me education is sim-
ply a leading out of what is already there.”

To this head mistress McKay responds rather haughtily, saying, “I had
hoped there might also be a certain amount of putting in.”

Miss Brodie laughs at this notion and replies, “That would not be ed-
ucation, but intrusion.”