--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The very things I needed to learn were…" description: "\"“The very things I needed to learn were the very things I was trying to teach you.”\" — Kate McGahan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg" --- # The very things I needed to learn were the very things I… ![“The very things I needed to learn were the very things I was trying to teach you.” quote by Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg) > ““The very things I needed to learn were the very things I was trying to teach you.”” [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning often occurs through the act of teaching, as the teacher discovers the same lessons they aim to convey. **In simple terms:** Teaching teaches you too. Key Takeaway Teach to learn. Themes education humility growth Mood inspirational thoughtful Type educational reflective When to use this quote - classroom - coaching - peer mentoring - online courses Key Concepts metacognition reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - What have you learned while teaching? - How does teaching change your perspective? A Different Perspective Teaching may not always reveal personal gaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Projection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projection/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) ## Related quotes > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it: they must not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/in-order-that-people-may-be-happy-in-their-work-these-three-things-2/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [To educate the peasantry, three things are needed: schools, schools and schools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-educate-the-peasantry-three-things-are-needed-schools-schools-and/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Everyone needs some trial and error figuring out how it's gonna work for them. I could have gotten that out of the way a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/everyone-needs-some-trial-and-error-figuring-out-how-it-s-gonna-work/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) > [I have been around at a time when important things needed to be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-been-around-at-a-time-when-important-things-needed-to-be-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There were a couple of things I needed to do while I was in New York. 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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": "“The very things I needed to learn were the very things I was trying to teach you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate McGahan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-the-very-things-i-was-trying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-the-very-things-i-was-trying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/kate-mcgahan-8408_education_the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-t_211715.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The very things I needed to learn were the very things I was trying to teach you.” — Kate McGahan", "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": "Kate McGahan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The very things I needed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-the-very-things-i-was-trying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/the-very-things-i-needed-to-learn-were-the-very-things-i-was-trying/#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 } } ] } ```