--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh…" description: "\"I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh and eighth grade, and I tried to write fiction on the side.\" — David Grann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg" --- # I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh and eighth grade… ![“I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh and eighth grade, and I tried to write fiction on the side.” quote by David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg) > “I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh and eighth grade, and I tried to write fiction on the side.” [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He taught middle school while writing fiction on the side. **In simple terms:** Teaching and writing simultaneously. Key Takeaway Manage time to nurture both passions. Themes education writing multitasking career transition Mood determined thoughtful Type professional personal development When to use this quote - classroom - writing sessions - evening work Key Concepts discipline storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do you prioritize tasks? - What routines support your dual roles? A Different Perspective Balancing two demanding jobs can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eighth grade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighth-grade/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachers/) ## Related quotes > [It's in the preparation - in those dreary pedestrian virtues they taught you in seventh grade and you didn't believe. It's making the extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/it-s-in-the-preparation-in-those-dreary-pedestrian-virtues-they/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [“Why is it that there was always a unit on history, math, science and god knows what other useless, totally forgettable information you taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/why-is-it-that-there-was-always-a-unit-on-history-math-science-and/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [When I was in the eighth grade, I wrote this huge long paper about how I had no idea what I was gonna do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shantel-vansanten/when-i-was-in-the-eighth-grade-i-wrote-this-huge-long-paper-about-how/) [Shantel VanSanten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shantel-vansanten/) > [I grew up in Del Mar, Calif., north of San Diego. I got my first job the summer after eighth grade at a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/i-grew-up-in-del-mar-calif-north-of-san-diego-i-got-my-first-job-the/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [My girlfriend in eighth grade had been asking her friends when I was going to kiss her. At a dance, my buddy said, 'You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rady/my-girlfriend-in-eighth-grade-had-been-asking-her-friends-when-i-was/) [Michael Rady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rady/) > [You look at pictures of me when I was in eighth grade, and I look completely different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hayward/you-look-at-pictures-of-me-when-i-was-in-eighth-grade-and-i-look/) [Gordon Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hayward/) > [I knew I was different when I was about six years of age but I just knew that I wasn't like everybody else. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcgreevey/i-knew-i-was-different-when-i-was-about-six-years-of-age-but-i-just/) [James McGreevey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcgreevey/) > [In the eighth grade I found I had a voice for opera, so I followed that path a little, but my impulse has always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-davi/in-the-eighth-grade-i-found-i-had-a-voice-for-opera-so-i-followed/) [Robert Davi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-davi/) > [My only foray into anything stock-market-related was in my eighth grade social studies class. I have steered clear ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-sommer/my-only-foray-into-anything-stock-market-related-was-in-my-eighth/) [Rich Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-sommer/) > [I mean, I did a play when I was in eighth grade, but who hasn't?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/i-mean-i-did-a-play-when-i-was-in-eighth-grade-but-who-hasn-t/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [As I got older, I'd say probably when I got to, like, seventh or eighth grade, I was living in Atlanta, Georgia at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lambert/as-i-got-older-i-d-say-probably-when-i-got-to-like-seventh-or-eighth/) [David Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lambert/) > [When we home schooled my oldest, Jasper, in eighth grade, I saw how empowering it is for a child to learn in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-amis/when-we-home-schooled-my-oldest-jasper-in-eighth-grade-i-saw-how/) [Suzy Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-amis/) > [Back in eighth grade, I'd seen nothing but small-town Georgia when I left the U.S. for the first time and went to Hong Kong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-massey/back-in-eighth-grade-i-d-seen-nothing-but-small-town-georgia-when-i/) Chandler Massey > [I played football in eighth grade, and even though I had a passion for it, it turned out I'm no good at playing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-mathews/i-played-football-in-eighth-grade-and-even-though-i-had-a-passion-for/) [Ross Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-mathews/) > [My mothers dad dropped out of the eighth grade to work. He had to. By the time he was 30, he was a master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/my-mothers-dad-dropped-out-of-the-eighth-grade-to-work-he-had-to-by/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) ## More by David Grann > [“To believe that the Osages survived intact from their ordeal is a delusion of the mind. What has been possible to salvage has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/to-believe-that-the-osages-survived-intact-from-their-ordeal-is-a/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Over the next two decades, the Osage were forced to cede nearly a hundred million acres of their ancestral land, ultimately finding refuge in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/over-the-next-two-decades-the-osage-were-forced-to-cede-nearly-a/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Only in the mid-nineteenth century, after the growth of industrial cities and a rash of urban riots—after dread of the so-called dangerous classes surpassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/only-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-after-the-growth-of-industrial/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [I look for stories everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-look-for-stories-everywhere/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Emmett White became a firm, even unyielding, sheriff. Still, he showed remarkable consideration toward the people in his custody and insisted on making arrests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/emmett-white-became-a-firm-even-unyielding-sheriff-still-he-showed/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [My mother doesn't need much sleep. At any hour of the night, you'd wake up, and she'd be reading. She'd read five, six books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/my-mother-doesn-t-need-much-sleep-at-any-hour-of-the-night-you-d-wake/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [The way we live history is not the way historians tell history. Our lives are messy and chaotic and bewildering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/the-way-we-live-history-is-not-the-way-historians-tell-history-our/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Fawcett, who had always found refuge in the natural world, no longer recognized the wilderness of bombed-out villages, denuded trees, craters, and sunbaked skeletons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/fawcett-who-had-always-found-refuge-in-the-natural-world-no-longer/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Does God think that, because it is raining, I am not going to destroy the world? - Lope de Aguirre after going mad in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/does-god-think-that-because-it-is-raining-i-am-not-going-to-destroy/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“In 1804, a delegation of Osage chiefs met with Jefferson at the White House. He told the navy secretary that the Osage, whose warriors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/in-1804-a-delegation-of-osage-chiefs-met-with-jefferson-at-the-white/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [A lot of the stuff I tweet is out of childlike curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-tweet-is-out-of-childlike-curiosity/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [“Instead, the terrain looked like Nebraska—perpetual plains that faded into the horizon. When I asked Taukane where the forest was, he said, simply, “Gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/instead-the-terrain-looked-like-nebraska-perpetual-plains-that-faded/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [I covered Congress, and everyone always wanted me to be a political reporter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-covered-congress-and-everyone-always-wanted-me-to-be-a-political/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [For a while, when I got out of college, I tried to write fiction. I'd grown up more around novelists, and my initial attraction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/for-a-while-when-i-got-out-of-college-i-tried-to-write-fiction-i-d/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) > [One of the nice things about 'The New Yorker' is they let you write stories that sometimes end up almost half a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/one-of-the-nice-things-about-the-new-yorker-is-they-let-you-write/) [David Grann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) [Explore all 160 David Grann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/) ## More Eighth grade quotes > [When I was in eighth grade, I got the nickname Bean. It was from one of the seniors on the team. She called me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breanna-stewart/when-i-was-in-eighth-grade-i-got-the-nickname-bean-it-was-from-one-of/) [Breanna Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breanna-stewart/) > [“If the day had gone as planned, it would have faded into the sky unmarked, swallowed without a trace along with the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-day-had-gone-as-planned-it-would-have-faded-into-the-sky/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In eighth grade, when I was just the school weirdo, my drama teacher put me in a play, and we came up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-middleditch/in-eighth-grade-when-i-was-just-the-school-weirdo-my-drama-teacher/) [Thomas Middleditch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-middleditch/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. Their father had gone to a one-room schoolhouse through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-had-observed-that-the-more-education-they-got-the-less-they-could/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [When I was in school, in eighth grade, someone recognized something in me. She was an English teacher, and we read a play out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/when-i-was-in-school-in-eighth-grade-someone-recognized-something-in/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [“But back then we had to amuse ourselves, and fighting seemed to be all we had. Looking back, it was good for us. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brandt/but-back-then-we-had-to-amuse-ourselves-and-fighting-seemed-to-be-all/) [Charles Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brandt/) > [In eighth grade, I went to home school, but it was a program meant for stay-at-home moms, and both my parents worked, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scotty-lago/in-eighth-grade-i-went-to-home-school-but-it-was-a-program-meant-for/) [Scotty Lago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scotty-lago/) > [I would never be popular. I didn't want to be; I liked being shy. I'd never be the smartest or the hottest or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-would-never-be-popular-i-didn-t-want-to-be-i-liked-being-shy-i-d/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I was one of those weird kids who didn't really speak or smile. I remember my teachers would call home and ask if everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessia-cara/i-was-one-of-those-weird-kids-who-didn-t-really-speak-or-smile-i/) [Alessia Cara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessia-cara/) > [My mothers dad dropped out of the eighth grade to work. He had to. By the time he was 30, he was a master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/my-mothers-dad-dropped-out-of-the-eighth-grade-to-work-he-had-to-by/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [I grew up in Sydney, Australia, and I started doing acting classes when I was in eighth grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-macdonald/i-grew-up-in-sydney-australia-and-i-started-doing-acting-classes-when/) [Danielle Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-macdonald/) > [I played football in eighth grade, and even though I had a passion for it, it turned out I'm no good at playing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-mathews/i-played-football-in-eighth-grade-and-even-though-i-had-a-passion-for/) [Ross Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-mathews/) > [I was not good in school. I could never read very fast or very well. I got tested for learning disabilities, for dyslexia. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/i-was-not-good-in-school-i-could-never-read-very-fast-or-very-well-i/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) > [I was going to different neighborhoods around Brooklyn battling cats back in - this started in '82, so that's like eighth grade. Maybe 13, 14.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-daddy-kane/i-was-going-to-different-neighborhoods-around-brooklyn-battling-cats/) [Big Daddy Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-daddy-kane/) > [Marriage and fatherhood heighten the disillusion that we all think we are born handy. We confidently believe that we can fix things around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/marriage-and-fatherhood-heighten-the-disillusion-that-we-all-think-we/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) [Browse all 119 Eighth grade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighth-grade/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh and eighth grade, and I tried to write fiction on the side.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Grann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-and-eighth-grade-and-i-tried/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eighth grade" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-and-eighth-grade-and-i-tried/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/david-grann-2569_eighth-grade_i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-a_604289.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was a schoolteacher; I taught seventh and eighth grade, and I tried to write fiction on the side.” — David Grann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Grann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was a schoolteacher; I taught...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-and-eighth-grade-and-i-tried/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grann/i-was-a-schoolteacher-i-taught-seventh-and-eighth-grade-and-i-tried/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```