--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I'm teaching, I'm not really doing…" description: "\"When I'm teaching, I'm not really doing my job if the student who's always comfortable doing wacko stuff all over the page keeps getting gold stars fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/john-d-agata-13689_armor_when-i-m-teaching-i-m-not-really-doing-m_1276915.jpg" --- # When I'm teaching, I'm not really doing my job if the… ![“When I'm teaching, I'm not really doing my job if the student who's always comfortable doing wacko stuff all over the page keeps getting gold stars from me for doing wacko stuff all over the page. A riskier assignment for that student, who might be used to hiding behind a lot of formal armor…” quote by John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/john-d-agata-13689_armor_when-i-m-teaching-i-m-not-really-doing-m_1276915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/john-d-agata-13689_armor_when-i-m-teaching-i-m-not-really-doing-m_1276915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/john-d-agata-13689_armor_when-i-m-teaching-i-m-not-really-doing-m_1276915.jpg) > “When I'm teaching, I'm not really doing my job if the student who's always comfortable doing wacko stuff all over the page keeps getting gold stars from me for doing wacko stuff all over the page. A riskier assignment for that student, who might be used to hiding behind a lot of formal armor, would be to try to do something straightforward, traditionally, in which they are much more directly laid bare for the reader.” [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encouraging students to step out of comfort zones by assigning straightforward tasks reveals their true abilities and promotes growth. **In simple terms:** Push students to try simple tasks to reveal strengths. Key Takeaway Assign simple, revealing tasks. Themes education growth challenge Mood reflective encouraging Type pedagogical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom assignments - writing workshops - creative projects Key Concepts learning theory assessment psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance challenge with simplicity? - What benefits arise from exposing raw skill? A Different Perspective Students may resist simplicity, feeling it lacks creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [It's exciting having a student who is not used to expressing their emotional side and bringing that out in them and see that developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/it-s-exciting-having-a-student-who-is-not-used-to-expressing-their/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [There are so many people that, as I go across the country, say, 'I was a student and I used to come see you.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-breuer/there-are-so-many-people-that-as-i-go-across-the-country-say-i-was-a/) [Jim Breuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-breuer/) > [I am afraid that we are beginning to be over-educated; at least everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching -that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-afraid-that-we-are-beginning-to-be-over-educated-at-least/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If you love dance and you have the gift of teaching, teaching is super amazing and important because my teachers planted that seed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurieann-gibson/if-you-love-dance-and-you-have-the-gift-of-teaching-teaching-is-super/) [Laurieann Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurieann-gibson/) > [Teaching is really a natural extension of one's practice--one wants to share something that's so influential and beautiful in one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/teaching-is-really-a-natural-extension-of-one-s-practice-one-wants-to/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) > [There's lots of bad things about teaching, but the really good thing is that you get to be around young people - irritating as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/there-s-lots-of-bad-things-about-teaching-but-the-really-good-thing/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [My assignment is to take my situation and to use it to help others who feel hopeless and/or helpless because of loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-sapp/my-assignment-is-to-take-my-situation-and-to-use-it-to-help-others/) [Marvin Sapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-sapp/) > [“Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-pay-hinckley/think-about-your-particular-assignment-at-this-time-in-your-life-it/) [Marjorie Pay Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-pay-hinckley/) > [People forget that it's an acting assignment. You can work with someone for three months, three years or 30 years, and then you move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-washington/people-forget-that-it-s-an-acting-assignment-you-can-work-with/) [Isaiah Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-washington/) > [Honestly, I think the key () has been, treat every assignment as if it’s your first one, you know? I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-winters/honestly-i-think-the-key-has-been-treat-every-assignment-as-if-it-s/) Dan Winters > [Other writers, producers, and directors of low-budget films would often put down the film they were making, saying it was just something to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-corman/other-writers-producers-and-directors-of-low-budget-films-would-often/) [Roger Corman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-corman/) > [They told me I didn't understand the assignment, I told them they didn't understand life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/they-told-me-i-didn-t-understand-the-assignment-i-told-them-they-didn/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Even with an assignment, I take over, I find a freedom and make the idea my own, and that's where you get the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/even-with-an-assignment-i-take-over-i-find-a-freedom-and-make-the/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [Just how we fit into the plans of the Great Architect and how much he has assigned us to do we do not know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrews-millikan/just-how-we-fit-into-the-plans-of-the-great-architect-and-how-much-he/) [Robert Andrews Millikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrews-millikan/) > [Do not delegate an assignment and then attempt to manage it yourself - you will make an enemy of the overruled subordinate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wess-roberts/do-not-delegate-an-assignment-and-then-attempt-to-manage-it-yourself/) [Wess Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wess-roberts/) ## More by John D'Agata > [Inclusiveness isn't what I want to push back against. The obsession with facts is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/inclusiveness-isn-t-what-i-want-to-push-back-against-the-obsession/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Yet there are some critics in the nonfiction world who still look at some of today's stranger interpretations of the essay and say "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/yet-there-are-some-critics-in-the-nonfiction-world-who-still-look-at/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I think that in a lot of readers' minds the essay is a lot more utilitarian than it is art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-think-that-in-a-lot-of-readers-minds-the-essay-is-a-lot-more/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [As frustrating as my time in grad school felt, it also helped tremendously because it challenged me to figure out what it was I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/as-frustrating-as-my-time-in-grad-school-felt-it-also-helped/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I'm not worried about what part of their life they needed to massage in order to achieve something that I get to experience as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-m-not-worried-about-what-part-of-their-life-they-needed-to-massage/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [You create your own audience, and your own community of peers, and in some ways you create your own forebears as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/you-create-your-own-audience-and-your-own-community-of-peers-and-in/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Even if it's a definition that feels oppressive to us, that oppression can be inspiring because it helps us push up against something while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/even-if-it-s-a-definition-that-feels-oppressive-to-us-that-oppression/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I thought that I wasn't an essayist because I just didn't see myself in a lot of the essays that were popular at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-thought-that-i-wasn-t-an-essayist-because-i-just-didn-t-see-myself/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [A risk is something that feels risky to the person who's taking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/a-risk-is-something-that-feels-risky-to-the-person-who-s-taking-it/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [You move your life across the country and make a commitment to a place, and to a genre, and then you realize that neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/you-move-your-life-across-the-country-and-make-a-commitment-to-a/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Pedagogically, we need definitions and borders. They help us get our heads around what we're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/pedagogically-we-need-definitions-and-borders-they-help-us-get-our/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [“Maybe every essay automatically is in some way experimental — less an outline traveling toward a foregone conclusion than an unmapped quest that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/maybe-every-essay-automatically-is-in-some-way-experimental-less-an/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [I wanted to create an environment in which more than just personal essays could be represented, and in which stranger approaches to making essays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-wanted-to-create-an-environment-in-which-more-than-just-personal/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Sometimes what I'm looking for is the thing that will help renew people's interest in a writer that they may have written off as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/sometimes-what-i-m-looking-for-is-the-thing-that-will-help-renew/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [It's fun to just skim through piles of books in the stacks of a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/it-s-fun-to-just-skim-through-piles-of-books-in-the-stacks-of-a/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) [Explore all 49 John D'Agata quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) ## More Armor quotes > [We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-make-sure-our-troops-have-all-that-is-necessary-to-complete/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“Tonight, I'll strip off all this armor and let it be as it was before..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/tonight-i-ll-strip-off-all-this-armor-and-let-it-be-as-it-was-before/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [In other words,when GOD is finish, he will be a REAL MAN, but a Man of armor.''](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-poet-of-agent-times/in-other-words-when-god-is-finish-he-will-be-a-real-man-but-a-man-of/) [The Poet Of Agent Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-poet-of-agent-times/) > [My grandmother had six kids - one died as an infant - and she was dirt-poor, and all her kids got an education. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/my-grandmother-had-six-kids-one-died-as-an-infant-and-she-was-dirt/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [It's a question of dropping the armor and getting up and doing the work you want to do. And film at first is frightening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-dowd/it-s-a-question-of-dropping-the-armor-and-getting-up-and-doing-the/) [Ann Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-dowd/) > [She looked at me. "What? Is there something wrong with my idea?" "It's not very heroic," I said dismissively. "I was expecting something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/she-looked-at-me-what-is-there-something-wrong-with-my-idea-it-s-not/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [In any story, the villain is the catalyst. The hero's not a person who will bend the rules or show the cracks in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/in-any-story-the-villain-is-the-catalyst-the-hero-s-not-a-person-who/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“It’s our own individual pattern of defenses, rationalizations, paradigms—our ways of responding to anything that threatens our comfort. Unless we’re careful to remain open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-our-own-individual-pattern-of-defenses-rationalizations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They can't touch us. We're the Vikings. We go into battle without armor for the flush and the blood of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/they-can-t-touch-us-we-re-the-vikings-we-go-into-battle-without-armor/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [He shone all over. Only Magnus, Simon thought resignedly, would have access to sequined battle armor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-shone-all-over-only-magnus-simon-thought-resignedly-would-have/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Wait a while; there will come to you mounts, carrying lions in shining armor, battalions followed by battalions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalid-ibn-al-walid/wait-a-while-there-will-come-to-you-mounts-carrying-lions-in-shining/) [Khalid ibn al-Walid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalid-ibn-al-walid/) > [“The weight of armor and shield will tire even the strongest man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-weight-of-armor-and-shield-will-tire-even-the-strongest-man/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Is there a wrong way to say "I don't know"? Yes. When we declare ignorance, it should be a) honest and b) in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/is-there-a-wrong-way-to-say-i-don-t-know-yes-when-we-declare/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [Successful people are able to rise above crises by relaxing no matter what the external situation. Their belief in themselves, the strength of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/successful-people-are-able-to-rise-above-crises-by-relaxing-no-matter/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [I put on an act sometimes, and people think I’m insensitive. Really, it’s like a kind of armor because I’m too sensitive. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-brando/i-put-on-an-act-sometimes-and-people-think-i-m-insensitive-really-it/) [Marlon Brando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-brando/) Browse all 390 Armor quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I'm teaching, I'm not really doing my job if the student who's always comfortable doing wacko stuff all over the page keeps getting gold stars from me for doing wacko stuff all over the page. 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