--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Teachers must learn how to teach ... they…" description: "\"Teachers must learn how to teach ... they need only to be taught more effective ways of teaching.\" — B. F. Skinner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/b-f-skinner-4812_education_teachers-must-learn-how-to-teach-they-ne_1529034.png" --- # Teachers must learn how to teach ... they need only to be… ![“Teachers must learn how to teach ... they need only to be taught more effective ways of teaching.” quote by B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/b-f-skinner-4812_education_teachers-must-learn-how-to-teach-they-ne_1529034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/b-f-skinner-4812_education_teachers-must-learn-how-to-teach-they-ne_1529034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/b-f-skinner-4812_education_teachers-must-learn-how-to-teach-they-ne_1529034.png) > “Teachers must learn how to teach ... they need only to be taught more effective ways of teaching.” [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective teaching requires continuous learning and adoption of proven methods. **In simple terms:** Teachers must keep learning. Key Takeaway Invest in professional development. Themes education pedagogy growth Mood reflective encouraging Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - classroom practice - teacher workshops - curriculum design Key Concepts behaviorism instructional design teacher training Questions to Reflect On - How can teachers stay updated? - What barriers hinder method adoption? A Different Perspective Resistance to change can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [Schools teach the need to be taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/schools-teach-the-need-to-be-taught/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [We teach what we need to learn. And we teach it until we get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-teach-what-we-need-to-learn-and-we-teach-it-until-we-get-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Are our ways of teaching students to ask some questions always correlative with our ways of teaching them not to ask - indeed, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-johnson/are-our-ways-of-teaching-students-to-ask-some-questions-always/) [Barbara Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-johnson/) > [The old ways of teaching are slow and expensive. But with mobile, cost plummets, access broadens, and pedagogy rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-saylor/the-old-ways-of-teaching-are-slow-and-expensive-but-with-mobile-cost/) [Michael J. Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-saylor/) > [I confess myself utterly at a loss in suggesting particular reforms in our ways of teaching. No discretion that can be lodged with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-confess-myself-utterly-at-a-loss-in-suggesting-particular-reforms/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/children-learn-more-from-what-you-are-than-what-you-teach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let the teachers learn the kids English. Ol' Diz will learn the kids baseball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzy-dean/let-the-teachers-learn-the-kids-english-ol-diz-will-learn-the-kids/) [Dizzy Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzy-dean/) > [Teachers learn from their students' discussions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashi/teachers-learn-from-their-students-discussions/) [Rashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashi/) > [“As part of the CARE program, teachers learn how to balance their work and personal lives in order to continually renew the inner strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-a-jennings/as-part-of-the-care-program-teachers-learn-how-to-balance-their-work/) [Patricia A. Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-a-jennings/) > [Parents and teachers, learn to listen, then listen to learn from children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/parents-and-teachers-learn-to-listen-then-listen-to-learn-from/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [“Professional development is something that is important for language teachers for a variety of reasons. It helps teachers to learn more about the field,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-lowe/professional-development-is-something-that-is-important-for-language/) Robert J. Lowe > [Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/experience-that-most-brutal-of-teachers-but-you-learn-my-god-do-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's strange how teachers can go off to college for all those years to learn to become teachers, but some of them never learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-dicks/it-s-strange-how-teachers-can-go-off-to-college-for-all-those-years/) [Matthew Dicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-dicks/) > [Our actions are guaranteed to affect others. Because we are not alone in this world, much of our learning about ourselves comes from our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-actions-are-guaranteed-to-affect-others-because-we-are-not-alone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know, I really don't think you learn from teachers. You learn from work. I think what you learn, really, is how to be-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/you-know-i-really-don-t-think-you-learn-from-teachers-you-learn-from/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) ## More by B. F. Skinner > [To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-require-a-citizen-to-sign-a-loyalty-oath-is-to-destroy-some-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-first-principle-not-formally-recognized-by-scientific/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The problem of far greater importance remains to be solved. Rather than build a world in which we shall all live well, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-problem-of-far-greater-importance-remains-to-be-solved-rather/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I remember when I was a freshman in college, I was still somewhat bothered by... worried... about religion. I remember going to this professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-remember-when-i-was-a-freshman-in-college-i-was-still-somewhat/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/those-who-have-had-anything-useful-to-say-have-said-it-far-too-often/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I would be opposed to any kind of totalitarian control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-would-be-opposed-to-any-kind-of-totalitarian-control/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-disappointment-is-not-generally-an-oversight-it-might-just-be-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-simplest-and-most-satisfactory-view-is-that-thought-is-simply/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/behavior-is-shaped-and-maintained-by-its-consequences/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The alphabet was a great invention, which enabled men to store and to learn with little effort what others had learned the hard way-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-alphabet-was-a-great-invention-which-enabled-men-to-store-and-to/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The people who control the condition in which we live have no reason to think beyond more than the next five or 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-people-who-control-the-condition-in-which-we-live-have-no-reason/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-am-opposed-to-the-military-use-of-animals-i-am-also-opposed-to-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A person's genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-person-s-genetic-endowment-a-product-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/if-you-re-old-don-t-try-to-change-yourself-change-your-environment/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) [Explore all 105 B. F. Skinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Teachers must learn how to teach ... they need only to be taught more effective ways of teaching.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. 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