I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think.

Sullivan criticizes highly formalized, “one-size-fits-all” schooling that treats children as passive vessels rather than active minds. The line suggests that elaborate pedagogical systems often begin from a deficit model—assuming the child cannot reason without being methodically instructed—when, in Sullivan’s view, curiosity and intelligence are already present and should be drawn out through experience, conversation, and responsive guidance. Coming from a teacher celebrated for individualized, patient instruction, the remark underscores a progressive belief that education should cultivate independent thinking rather than impose rigid routines. It also implies skepticism toward bureaucratic educational fashions that prioritize method over the child’s lived reality.