--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was told that I had to give grades to…" description: "\"I was told that I had to give grades to the students, which I wasn't particularly interested in doing.\" — Merce Cunningham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg" --- # I was told that I had to give grades to the students… ![“I was told that I had to give grades to the students, which I wasn't particularly interested in doing.” quote by Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg) > “I was told that I had to give grades to the students, which I wasn't particularly interested in doing.” [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching grades was required, though not a personal interest. **In simple terms:** Grading was assigned, not desired. Key Takeaway Find purpose beyond assigned tasks. Themes education motivation autonomy Mood reflective pragmatic Type professional motivational When to use this quote - classroom management - project evaluation - personal development Key Concepts intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation role conflict Questions to Reflect On - How can you find meaning in required tasks? - What motivates you beyond grades? A Different Perspective Compulsory duties may reduce engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) ## Related quotes > [I often suggest in workshops that if you have 30 students in your American History course in 11th grade, or whatever grade level, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/i-often-suggest-in-workshops-that-if-you-have-30-students-in-your/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-have-an-obligation-and-a-responsibility-to-be-investing-in-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I wasn't a great student. Just give me a school with no grades, and I'll be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-elliott/i-wasn-t-a-great-student-just-give-me-a-school-with-no-grades-and-i/) [Alison Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-elliott/) > [We are all in the business of sales. Teachers sell students on learning, parents sell their children on making good grades and behaving, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/we-are-all-in-the-business-of-sales-teachers-sell-students-on/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I was a 36C or D, and at 5' 1'', I knew that being a small person with big boobs standing in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-was-a-36c-or-d-and-at-5-1-i-knew-that-being-a-small-person-with-big/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [This kind of horror has become all too familiar to us. As parents, Cindy and I offer our prayers to the memory of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/this-kind-of-horror-has-become-all-too-familiar-to-us-as-parents/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [The first responsibility of the Muslim is as teacher. That is his job, to teach. His first school, his first classroom is within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rap-brown/the-first-responsibility-of-the-muslim-is-as-teacher-that-is-his-job/) [H. Rap Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rap-brown/) > [On the one hand, we had great filmic spectacles that brought in big audiences, adults as well as primary and secondary school students. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/on-the-one-hand-we-had-great-filmic-spectacles-that-brought-in-big/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [Clapping the longest during an assembly because you're a fearless bastard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/clapping-the-longest-during-an-assembly-because-you-re-a-fearless/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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/) > [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 ## More by Merce Cunningham > [There's no thinking involved in my choreography... I don't work through images or ideas. I work through the body... If the dancer dances, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/there-s-no-thinking-involved-in-my-choreography-i-don-t-work-through/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [“Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the dancer is to obliterate that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-object-of-the-dancer-is-to/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [The most essential thing in dance discipline is devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/the-most-essential-thing-in-dance-discipline-is-devotion/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I think anything can feed you, depending on the way you look at it or listen to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-think-anything-can-feed-you-depending-on-the-way-you-look-at-it-or/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [“You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/you-have-to-love-dancing-to-stick-to-it-it-gives-you-nothing-back-no/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [My dance classes were open to anybody, my only stipulation was that they had to come to the class every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/my-dance-classes-were-open-to-anybody-my-only-stipulation-was-that/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [You can get fixed ideas, and it can get restrictive. So, I try to put myself in a precarious position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/you-can-get-fixed-ideas-and-it-can-get-restrictive-so-i-try-to-put/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Fortunately, dance has been what's interested me all my life. So whether I am faced with incapacities or not, it still absorbs me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/fortunately-dance-has-been-what-s-interested-me-all-my-life-so/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Movement is expressive. I've never denied that. I don't think there's such a thing as abstract dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/movement-is-expressive-i-ve-never-denied-that-i-don-t-think-there-s/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [You do not separate the human being from the actions he does or the actions which surround him, but you see what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/you-do-not-separate-the-human-being-from-the-actions-he-does-or-the/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Very often, you did something slow with your arm, for example, and something rapid with your feet - but the arm had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/very-often-you-did-something-slow-with-your-arm-for-example-and/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I began to do this thing I do of giving myself a class every day, and trying to experiment and push further. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-began-to-do-this-thing-i-do-of-giving-myself-a-class-every-day-and/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [It is upon the length and breadth and span of a body sustained in muscular action that dance invokes its image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/it-is-upon-the-length-and-breadth-and-span-of-a-body-sustained-in/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I have always had this thing about moving around, and that has just remained, regardless of my physical changes. That feeling about it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-have-always-had-this-thing-about-moving-around-and-that-has-just/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Anything can feed you, depending on the way you look at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/anything-can-feed-you-depending-on-the-way-you-look-at-it/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) [Explore all 40 Merce Cunningham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) ## More Grades quotes > [I studied all kinds of dance, all types of music. I got good grades. I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [“At least when he was at Aglionby he could turn over his papers to see the grades, concrete proof of his success at something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/at-least-when-he-was-at-aglionby-he-could-turn-over-his-papers-to-see/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Everybody either wanted to take care of me or push me around, you know? I was teased a lot, sure I was, of course.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hunt/everybody-either-wanted-to-take-care-of-me-or-push-me-around-you-know/) [Linda Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hunt/) > [I just always loved mythology, ever since I was a kid. Greek mythology was something I remember learning about in fourth grade, and Egypt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-larson/i-just-always-loved-mythology-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-greek-mythology/) [Brie Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-larson/) > [Many jobs at Google require math, computing, and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/many-jobs-at-google-require-math-computing-and-coding-skills-so-if/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Worry is different from fear. If fear is like a raging fever, worry is a low-grade temperature. It nags at us, simmers in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-lawson-sittser/worry-is-different-from-fear-if-fear-is-like-a-raging-fever-worry-is/) [Gerald Lawson Sittser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-lawson-sittser/) > [My first dunk was actually in sixth grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-carter/my-first-dunk-was-actually-in-sixth-grade/) [Vince Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-carter/) > [I was a 36C or D, and at 5' 1'', I knew that being a small person with big boobs standing in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-was-a-36c-or-d-and-at-5-1-i-knew-that-being-a-small-person-with-big/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [EXams are there, at the paper u stare; the answer is nowhere, which makes u pull ur hair. The teachers make u glare, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/exams-are-there-at-the-paper-u-stare-the-answer-is-nowhere-which/) Azgraybebly Joslan > [I've done eight grades of piano training from Trinity College and also done my sound engineering course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anirudh-ravichander/i-ve-done-eight-grades-of-piano-training-from-trinity-college-and/) [Anirudh Ravichander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anirudh-ravichander/) > [To change the media, you're gonna have to totally throw out every journalism school and get rid of everybody in every newsroom, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/to-change-the-media-you-re-gonna-have-to-totally-throw-out-every/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/if-hot-food-is-they-key-to-maintaining-an-expedition-s-stamina-then/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) Browse all 1,227 Grades quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was told that I had to give grades to the students, which I wasn't particularly interested in doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Merce Cunningham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to-the-students-which-i-wasn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grades" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to-the-students-which-i-wasn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/merce-cunningham-16180_grades_i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to_537171.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was told that I had to give grades to the students, which I wasn't particularly interested in doing.” — Merce Cunningham", "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": "Merce Cunningham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was told that I had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to-the-students-which-i-wasn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to-the-students-which-i-wasn-t/#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 } } ] } ```