From this perspective, a failure to learn is a "symptom." It might be a way of resisting authority, a fear of "surpassing" a parent, or a manifestation of anxiety regarding the unknown.

Freud noted that students often transfer feelings they have toward their parents onto their teachers ( transference ). If a child views the teacher as a nurturing or authoritative figure, their ability to "absorb" knowledge is deeply tied to that emotional bond.

Education is the process of being initiated into the "Symbolic Order"—the world of laws, language, and social structures. Lacan argues that we don't just learn facts; we learn how to position ourselves within the world's discourse.