--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I require of all my students… that they…" description: "\"“I require of all my students… that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardor and uncert..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/eleanor-catton-2384_justice_i-require-of-all-my-students-that-they-a_1398679.png" --- # I require of all my students… that they are downy and… ![“I require of all my students… that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardor and uncertainty and gloom. I require that they wait in the corridor for ten minutes at least before each lesson, tenderly nursing their injustices, picking…” quote by Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/eleanor-catton-2384_justice_i-require-of-all-my-students-that-they-a_1398679.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/eleanor-catton-2384_justice_i-require-of-all-my-students-that-they-a_1398679.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/eleanor-catton-2384_justice_i-require-of-all-my-students-that-they-a_1398679.png) > ““I require of all my students… that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardor and uncertainty and gloom. I require that they wait in the corridor for ten minutes at least before each lesson, tenderly nursing their injustices, picking miserably at their own unworthiness as one might finger a scab or caress a scar. If I am to teach your daughter, you darling hopeless and inadequate mother, she must be moody and bewildered and awkward and dissatisfied and wrong. When she realizes that he body is a secret, a dark and yawning secret of which she becomes more and more ashamed, come back to me. You must understand me on this point. I cannot teach children.”” [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a teacher’s demand for students to embrace discomfort and emotional turmoil as part of learning. **In simple terms:** Students must endure inner conflict to grow. Key Takeaway Accept discomfort as a learning tool. Themes education psychology growth Mood critical introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - classroom dynamics - personal counseling - creative writing - self‑reflection Key Concepts existential angst identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How can educators balance challenge and support? - What role does emotional pain play in learning? A Different Perspective Such intensity may overwhelm vulnerable learners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inadequate Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate-mother-4894767/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Require Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/require-students-4894766/) [Scar Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scar-teach-4894765/) [Teach Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-children/) [Teach Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-daughter-700329/) ## Related quotes > [Do not join encounter groups. If you enjoy being made to feel inadequate, call your mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-smith/do-not-join-encounter-groups-if-you-enjoy-being-made-to-feel/) [Liz Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-smith/) > [I think the best thing I could ever teach my daughter is that she's not an object or a trophy, and that she can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-homme/i-think-the-best-thing-i-could-ever-teach-my-daughter-is-that-she-s/) [Josh Homme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-homme/) > [“I wanted to teach my daughter the same things I had to unlearn after years spent as a corporate lawyer: that soul is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-b-armstrong/i-wanted-to-teach-my-daughter-the-same-things-i-had-to-unlearn-after/) [Heather B. Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-b-armstrong/) > [We're all born feeling perfect until somebody tells us we're not. So there's nothing I can teach my daughter. She already has all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/we-re-all-born-feeling-perfect-until-somebody-tells-us-we-re-not-so/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [The strongest lesson I can teach my son is the same lesson I teach my daughter: how to be who he wishes to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-strongest-lesson-i-can-teach-my-son-is-the-same-lesson-i-teach-my/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I definitely want to teach my daughter Spanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cruz/i-definitely-want-to-teach-my-daughter-spanish/) [Victor Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cruz/) > [I get to teach my daughter what I've learned. I don't want her to feel she has to be a certain way to impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendra-wilkinson/i-get-to-teach-my-daughter-what-i-ve-learned-i-don-t-want-her-to-feel/) [Kendra Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendra-wilkinson/) > [“When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she must ignore her outrage, that she must be kind and accepting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/when-you-teach-your-daughter-explicitly-or-by-passive-rejection-that/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Its a fathers job to teach his daughter her worth and his job to teach his son how to treat a woman!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-a-fathers-job-to-teach-his-daughter-her-worth-and-his-job-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I will teach my daughter to color outside the lines, to make mistakes, to take risks, and not be afraid to fail. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-arroyo-ruffin/i-will-teach-my-daughter-to-color-outside-the-lines-to-make-mistakes/) [Nancy Arroyo Ruffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-arroyo-ruffin/) > [Motherhood was the beginning of my own journey asking the question, 'Why am I here?' I had to stop and think: What am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/motherhood-was-the-beginning-of-my-own-journey-asking-the-question/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/then-you-must-teach-my-daughter-this-same-lesson-how-to-lose-your/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I want to teach my daughter the importance of exercising and eating healthy as she grows up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-pompeo/i-want-to-teach-my-daughter-the-importance-of-exercising-and-eating/) [Ellen Pompeo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-pompeo/) > [I will teach my son to respect women. At the same time I will also teach my daughter to take care and be mindful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-teach-my-son-to-respect-women-at-the-same-time-i-will-also/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let every man teach his son, teach his daughter, that labor is honorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/let-every-man-teach-his-son-teach-his-daughter-that-labor-is-honorable/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) ## More by Eleanor Catton > [“We spend our entire lives thinking about death. Without that project to divert us, I expect we would all be dreadfully bored. We would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/we-spend-our-entire-lives-thinking-about-death-without-that-project/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-often-feel-intellectually-frustrated-when-i-m-in-a-position-where-i/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“own reputation, by associating himself with a story of cuckoldry, blackmail, murder, and revenge, and nor did he spare a thought for how Balfour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/own-reputation-by-associating-himself-with-a-story-of-cuckoldry/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“In my experience people are rarely contented to end up where they started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/in-my-experience-people-are-rarely-contented-to-end-up-where-they/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“His temperament was deeply nostalgic, not for for his own past, but for past ages; he was cynical of the present, fearful of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-temperament-was-deeply-nostalgic-not-for-for-his-own-past-but-for/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“What was glimpsed in Aquarius—what was envisioned, believed in, prophesied, predicted, doubted, and forewarned—is made, in Pisces, manifest. Those solitary visions that, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/what-was-glimpsed-in-aquarius-what-was-envisioned-believed-in/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“Gaining control isn't the exciting part. Sleeping with a minor isn't exciting because you get to boss them around. It's exciting because you're risking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/gaining-control-isn-t-the-exciting-part-sleeping-with-a-minor-isn-t/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [Astrology's a moving system that depends on where you're looking at it from on Earth. My horoscope here in London would be completely different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/astrology-s-a-moving-system-that-depends-on-where-you-re-looking-at/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [As an artist, you need to be not at all entitled in your relation with the work. So money is kind of worrying. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/as-an-artist-you-need-to-be-not-at-all-entitled-in-your-relation-with/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The nice thing about the zodiac as a system is it is quite comprehensive as a range of impulses and psychological states it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/the-nice-thing-about-the-zodiac-as-a-system-is-it-is-quite/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“True feeling is always circular - either circular, or paradoxical - simply because its cause and its expression are tow halves of the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/true-feeling-is-always-circular-either-circular-or-paradoxical-simply/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“he built his persona as a shield around his person, because he knew very well how little his person could withstand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/he-built-his-persona-as-a-shield-around-his-person-because-he-knew/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“It must have been unpleasant to be discussed as a curiosity, spoken about over breakfast, and between rounds at billiards, as if one's soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/it-must-have-been-unpleasant-to-be-discussed-as-a-curiosity-spoken/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [Theatre is a concentrate of life as normal. Theatre is a purified version of real life, an extraction, an essence of human behaviour that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/theatre-is-a-concentrate-of-life-as-normal-theatre-is-a-purified/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) [Explore all 168 Eleanor Catton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## More Justice quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [“Why do so many people do nothing? I think it’s because most of us look at the evils and injustice around us, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/why-do-so-many-people-do-nothing-i-think-it-s-because-most-of-us-look/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Civilized nations are ones that simply can't endure wrongs or injustice except at home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-anderson/civilized-nations-are-ones-that-simply-can-t-endure-wrongs-or/) [Joseph Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-anderson/) > [Time often serves to justify a deed which seems at first unjustifiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-p-ryan/time-often-serves-to-justify-a-deed-which-seems-at-first-unjustifiable/) [Donald P. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-p-ryan/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [At minimum, we must recognize that there are legitimate, unanswered questions about whether the Obama Justice Department involved themselves in a political project targeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-meadows/at-minimum-we-must-recognize-that-there-are-legitimate-unanswered/) [Mark Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-meadows/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [There is no freedom without justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-is-no-freedom-without-justice/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. Chace Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-chace-gordon/) > [The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-function-of-the-law-is-not-to-provide-justice-or-to-preserve/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) [Browse all 13,527 Justice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I require of all my students… that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardor and uncertainty and gloom. 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