--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Faulkner turned out to be a great…" description: "\"Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had really wanted to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/leslie-fiedler-13246_education_faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teache_601543.png" --- # Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student… ![“Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had really wanted to know.” quote by Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/leslie-fiedler-13246_education_faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teache_601543.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/leslie-fiedler-13246_education_faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teache_601543.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/leslie-fiedler-13246_education_faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teache_601543.png) > “Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had really wanted to know.” [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A great teacher answers deeper underlying needs, not just the literal question. **In simple terms:** Good teachers address the real issue behind a query. Key Takeaway Listen for the hidden question. Themes education communication empathy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - classroom - mentoring - customer service Key Concepts pedagogy critical listening Questions to Reflect On - What does the asker truly need? - How can you reveal hidden concerns? A Different Perspective May overlook the surface question and miss nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Great teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-teacher/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) ## Related quotes > [Faulkner sat in our living room and read from Light in August. 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And teachers deserve the support they need to become great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/students-deserve-great-teachers-and-teachers-deserve-the-support-they/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [No matter how many great things you say about Jacques Pepin, there's always more. Through his books and videos, he taught me the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenji-lopez-alt/no-matter-how-many-great-things-you-say-about-jacques-pepin-there-s/) [J. Kenji Lopez-Alt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenji-lopez-alt/) ## More by Leslie Fiedler > [I have, I admit, a low tolerance for detached chronicling and cool analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-have-i-admit-a-low-tolerance-for-detached-chronicling-and-cool/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [“Our great novelists, though experts on indignity and assault, on loneliness and terror, tend to avoid treating the passionate encounter of a man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/our-great-novelists-though-experts-on-indignity-and-assault-on/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [The novel doesn't come into existence until certain methods of reproducing fiction come along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/the-novel-doesn-t-come-into-existence-until-certain-methods-of/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I love it now that a large minority of people who are handicapped prefer to call themselves crippled. This is all part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-love-it-now-that-a-large-minority-of-people-who-are-handicapped/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Saul Bellow never took my advice when he was my friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/saul-bellow-never-took-my-advice-when-he-was-my-friend/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Of the female black authors, I really like Morrison's early books a lot. But she's really become so much a clone of Faulkner. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/of-the-female-black-authors-i-really-like-morrison-s-early-books-a/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [When I was 12 years old, someone took me to see Martha Graham. It was nothing like what I thought of as serious dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/when-i-was-12-years-old-someone-took-me-to-see-martha-graham-it-was/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I long for the raised voice, the howl of rage or love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-long-for-the-raised-voice-the-howl-of-rage-or-love/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I never met anybody in my life who says, I want to be a critic. People want to be a fireman, poet, novelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-never-met-anybody-in-my-life-who-says-i-want-to-be-a-critic-people/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [DeLillo never seems committed to me to what he is writing. Very nice surfaces, but he's got nothing underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/delillo-never-seems-committed-to-me-to-what-he-is-writing-very-nice/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will inevitably continue to reflect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself-quite-so-seriously-or-at/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I've had a tough time with Pynchon. I liked him very much when I first read him. I liked him less with each book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-ve-had-a-tough-time-with-pynchon-i-liked-him-very-much-when-i-first/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [My assignment is what every writer's assignment is: tell the truth of his own time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/my-assignment-is-what-every-writer-s-assignment-is-tell-the-truth-of/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I gave up writing blurbs because you make one friend and 200 enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-gave-up-writing-blurbs-because-you-make-one-friend-and-200-enemies/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Henry Miller wrote novels, but he calls his protagonist Henry, often Henry Miller, and his books are in this gray area between memoir and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/henry-miller-wrote-novels-but-he-calls-his-protagonist-henry-often/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) [Explore all 51 Leslie Fiedler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. 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. 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