Confucius said: "Don't be a tool"

We've all heard the term "tool" to describe people in a derogatory way. I've never really understood what that meant exactly until class yesterday. I am in a Chinese Philosophy class and we are studying the Analects of Confucius. Yesterday in class we discussed
a verse that says "子曰：“君子不器”. The professor translated it as "gentlemen should not be utensils". He further explained that this utensil could be anything, a desk, a chair, a bowl or even a tool. All of us students quickly made the connection to "don't be a tool" and began to laugh. On a deeper level though, I feel like this has some real meaning. Confucius called one who knows the way or the  道 (dao) a gentleman. The purpose of life is to be a gentleman and follow the 道 (dao). When he said "don't be a tool" he was saying that people that are tools have only one purpose. They only specialize in one thing and are therefor only good for that one thing. Be it a plumber, electrician, microbiologist, whatever. To follow the 道 we need to be well-rounded individuals. We need to be fluid, to accept new ideas, to be open to other ways of doing things. If we are so narrow-minded we will never understand life, it's purpose and meaning. The way I see it, if I can specialize in one thing, why couldn't I specialize in 10 things? Or 20 things? If I can learn Chinese why can't I learn Italian? Spanish? Our minds are incredible things, they are capable of learning beyond the capacity of our understanding. Never stop learning, be fluid and as Confucius said "don't be a tool".