--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I made a point of always teaching…" description: "\"I made a point of always teaching undergraduates because they are not a captive audience. . . . I always tried out my research ideas first in the clas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/edmund-morgan-61584_audience_i-made-a-point-of-always-teaching-underg_2971647.jpg" --- # I made a point of always teaching undergraduates because… ![“I made a point of always teaching undergraduates because they are not a captive audience. . . . I always tried out my research ideas first in the classroom to get feedback from people who didn't have to listen to me if I didn't make it interesting.” quote by Edmund Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/edmund-morgan-61584_audience_i-made-a-point-of-always-teaching-underg_2971647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/edmund-morgan-61584_audience_i-made-a-point-of-always-teaching-underg_2971647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/edmund-morgan-61584_audience_i-made-a-point-of-always-teaching-underg_2971647.jpg) > “I made a point of always teaching undergraduates because they are not a captive audience. . . . I always tried out my research ideas first in the classroom to get feedback from people who didn't have to listen to me if I didn't make it interesting.” [Edmund Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morgan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching undergraduates offers authentic feedback, as they are not obligated listeners, making research ideas more testable and engaging. **In simple terms:** Teaching undergrads provides honest feedback on research. Key Takeaway Seek audience critique to improve ideas. Themes education research feedback Mood analytical pragmatic Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - research workshops - pilot studies Key Concepts pedagogy peer review Questions to Reflect On - How can you structure feedback for non-experts? - What incentives motivate student engagement? A Different Perspective Students may lack expertise to critique advanced concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Captives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captives/) [Classroom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classroom/) [Classroom Feedback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classroom-feedback-4577992/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Feedback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feedback/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Listen to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-to-me/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Point Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-teaching-4577993/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching Undergraduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-undergraduates-3929162/) [Undergraduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undergraduates-1250576/) ## Related quotes > [However, I should perhaps add that during the 20 years I have been back in Cambridge, I have been actively involved in the teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klug/however-i-should-perhaps-add-that-during-the-20-years-i-have-been/) [Aaron Klug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klug/) > [I run skills-building programs focused on healthy risk taking, failure resilience, and self-care for undergraduates around the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simmons/i-run-skills-building-programs-focused-on-healthy-risk-taking-failure/) [Rachel Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simmons/) > [My undergraduates, at first, get all starry-eyed about the idea of finding their passion, but over time, they get far more excited about developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-s-dweck/my-undergraduates-at-first-get-all-starry-eyed-about-the-idea-of/) [Carol S. Dweck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-s-dweck/) > [Engineering undergraduates should not be charged fees. They should receive grants, not student loans, and the government will get the money back long-term from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dyson/engineering-undergraduates-should-not-be-charged-fees-they-should/) [James Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dyson/) > [Despite the hours spent debating different models of general education, the choices faculties make rarely lead to any significant difference in the cognitive development…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/despite-the-hours-spent-debating-different-models-of-general/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [When I had a group of undergraduates in the room, I would say to them, 'How many of you want to run for office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-shaheen/when-i-had-a-group-of-undergraduates-in-the-room-i-would-say-to-them/) [Jeanne Shaheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-shaheen/) > [There are no tests similar to SATs to tell us how much undergraduates know. State legislators, who appropriate billions of dollars each year to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/there-are-no-tests-similar-to-sats-to-tell-us-how-much-undergraduates/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [Sometimes you have Harvard undergraduates who stun you with the depth of their knowledge. That is why it is great to be at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athanasios-orphanides/sometimes-you-have-harvard-undergraduates-who-stun-you-with-the-depth/) [Athanasios Orphanides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athanasios-orphanides/) > [If a comparative-literature major had existed at Harvard College for undergraduates I would have surely gone in that direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/if-a-comparative-literature-major-had-existed-at-harvard-college-for/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [The Committee supports the idea that there should be, within the University of California, a campus which puts particular emphasis on the education of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-robinson/the-committee-supports-the-idea-that-there-should-be-within-the/) [Abraham Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-robinson/) > [Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng possess a level of intellectual self-confidence usually found among undergraduates. They always have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-boles/liz-truss-and-kwasi-kwarteng-possess-a-level-of-intellectual-self/) [Nick Boles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-boles/) > [The most conservative persons I ever met are college undergraduates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-most-conservative-persons-i-ever-met-are-college-undergraduates/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Basically what you want in any profession - I would say the same thing if I were a lawyer or a doctor - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/basically-what-you-want-in-any-profession-i-would-say-the-same-thing/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Very few writers of distinction in fact were outstanding as undergraduates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/very-few-writers-of-distinction-in-fact-were-outstanding-as/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I now began for the first time to envy those young cubs at the university who had fine scholars to tell them what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-now-began-for-the-first-time-to-envy-those-young-cubs-at-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More by Edmund Morgan > [Children whose curiosity survives parental discipline and who manage to grow up before they blow up are invited to join the Yale faculty. Within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-morgan/children-whose-curiosity-survives-parental-discipline-and-who-manage/) [Edmund Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morgan/) > [A historian should not be didactic-that is a word that makes my blood run cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-morgan/a-historian-should-not-be-didactic-that-is-a-word-that-makes-my-blood/) [Edmund Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morgan/) > [The British government had not engaged in any serious actual oppression of the colonies before 1774, but it had claimed powers not granted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-morgan/the-british-government-had-not-engaged-in-any-serious-actual/) [Edmund Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morgan/) > [History at its best is vicarious experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-morgan/history-at-its-best-is-vicarious-experience/) [Edmund Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morgan/) [Explore all 5 Edmund Morgan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-morgan/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I made a point of always teaching undergraduates because they are not a captive audience. . . . 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