--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's unfortunate that sometimes in…" description: "\"It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.\" — Rita Dove" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg" --- # It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this… ![“It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg) > “It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education often overemphasizes numeric evaluation, overlooking holistic learning and creativity. **In simple terms:** Grades can limit true learning. Key Takeaway Value diverse assessment methods. Themes education assessment creativity holistic learning Mood reflective concerned Type critical observational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - curriculum design - parent-teacher meetings - student self‑evaluation Key Concepts quantification student development critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can schools balance metrics with personal growth? - What alternatives to grading foster creativity? A Different Perspective Grades may not reflect deeper understanding or skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Graded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graded-1460206/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Quantified Graded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantified-graded-5291397/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Schools Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schools-need-343724/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Things Quantified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-quantified-5291399/) [Unfortunate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfortunate/) [Unfortunate Schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfortunate-schools-5291398/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't know about competition until I got to school. I didn't know how degrading it was to be graded until I got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/i-didn-t-know-about-competition-until-i-got-to-school-i-didn-t-know/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [Life is graded on the curve. It's not how big you are, how strong you are, how smart you are. It's how good you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-frank/life-is-graded-on-the-curve-it-s-not-how-big-you-are-how-strong-you/) [Robert H. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-frank/) > [“Ms. Casey is standing in front of the class explaining how she worked all weekend to get the tests graded so she could hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-benoit/ms-casey-is-standing-in-front-of-the-class-explaining-how-she-worked/) [Charles Benoit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-benoit/) > [“It gets easier once you’re no longer graded, once you have to assess your actions for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/it-gets-easier-once-you-re-no-longer-graded-once-you-have-to-assess/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Each of us has more intelligence than we are trained to use and the part that we get graded on in school doesn’t amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-nadel/each-of-us-has-more-intelligence-than-we-are-trained-to-use-and-the/) [Laurie Nadel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-nadel/) > [In the SAS, if you're not good enough, you're graded out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-middleton/in-the-sas-if-you-re-not-good-enough-you-re-graded-out-of-it/) [Ant Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-middleton/) > [“It will be your generation that will grow up in the glorious new era when people will be as easily graded as oranges.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-will-be-your-generation-that-will-grow-up-in-the-glorious-new-era/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Who besides a degraded rabble would voluntarily present itself to be graded and classified like meat? 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Schools need to be open 12, 13, 14 hours a day six, seven days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-duncan/my-vision-is-that-schools-need-to-be-community-centers-schools-need/) [Arne Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-duncan/) > [Schools need not preach political doctrine to defend democracy. If they shape men capable of critical thought and trained in social attitudes, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/schools-need-not-preach-political-doctrine-to-defend-democracy-if/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [How our governments need standards of integrity! How our communities need yardsticks to measure decency! How our neighborhoods need models of beauty and cleanliness!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/how-our-governments-need-standards-of-integrity-how-our-communities/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Let's concede that we have decided to let our children grow up in two separate nations, and lead two separate kinds of lives. If,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/let-s-concede-that-we-have-decided-to-let-our-children-grow-up-in-two/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [We've made a huge effort globally and in the US, in getting kids jobs. This is one piece. The South Bronx and inner-city schools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dimon/we-ve-made-a-huge-effort-globally-and-in-the-us-in-getting-kids-jobs/) [Jamie Dimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dimon/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/all-of-us-have-moments-in-our-childhood-where-we-come-alive-for-the/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/the-first-book-go-ahead-it-won-t-bite-well-maybe-a-little-more-a-nip/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/sometimes-a-word-is-found-so-right-it-trembles-at-the-slightest/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/listen-how-they-say-your-name-if-they-can-t-say-that-right-there-s-no/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Creative writing and literacy go hand and hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/creative-writing-and-literacy-go-hand-and-hand/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-of-oedipus-in-blackface-i-did/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) [Explore all 106 Rita Dove quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rita Dove" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schools-there-s-this-need-to-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schools-there-s-this-need-to-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/rita-dove-4855_education_it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schoo_664846.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.” — Rita Dove", "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": "Rita Dove", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schools-there-s-this-need-to-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/it-s-unfortunate-that-sometimes-in-schools-there-s-this-need-to-have/#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 } } ] } ```