--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In other words, if a teacher only teaches…" description: "\"In other words, if a teacher only teaches in one way, then they conclude that the kids who can't learn well that way don't have the ability, when, in f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/robert-sternberg-20677_ability_in-other-words-if-a-teacher-only-teaches_995949.jpg" --- # In other words, if a teacher only teaches in one way, then… ![“In other words, if a teacher only teaches in one way, then they conclude that the kids who can't learn well that way don't have the ability, when, in fact, it may be that the way the teacher's teaching is not a particularly good match to the way those kids learn.” quote by Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/robert-sternberg-20677_ability_in-other-words-if-a-teacher-only-teaches_995949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/robert-sternberg-20677_ability_in-other-words-if-a-teacher-only-teaches_995949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/robert-sternberg-20677_ability_in-other-words-if-a-teacher-only-teaches_995949.jpg) > “In other words, if a teacher only teaches in one way, then they conclude that the kids who can't learn well that way don't have the ability, when, in fact, it may be that the way the teacher's teaching is not a particularly good match to the way those kids learn.” [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching only one method assumes inability in students whose learning style differs, ignoring mismatched instruction. **In simple terms:** One teaching style can mislabel students as unable. Key Takeaway Adapt teaching to diverse learning styles. Themes education learning diversity assessment inclusion Mood reflective concerned Type advisory analytical When to use this quote - classroom instruction - curriculum design - teacher training - student support - special education Key Concepts multiple intelligences pedagogy bias adaptability Questions to Reflect On - How can teachers identify mismatched learning styles? - What practices broaden instructional methods? A Different Perspective Overreliance on a single method may ignore other effective strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teacher Teaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher-teaches/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [Love finds a way.My teacher used to insult me because I always miss U.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-finds-a-way-my-teacher-used-to-insult-me-because-i-always-miss-u/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The word 'guru' is very loaded, so I would never refer to myself that way. I see myself as a teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/the-word-guru-is-very-loaded-so-i-would-never-refer-to-myself-that/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [My life could have easily gone another way. But I had this one teacher who gave me direction and got me into performing. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-rodriguez/my-life-could-have-easily-gone-another-way-but-i-had-this-one-teacher/) [Mel Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-rodriguez/) > [“God himself teaches the way to heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/god-himself-teaches-the-way-to-heaven/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A failure teaches you that something can't be done-that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/a-failure-teaches-you-that-something-can-t-be-done-that-way/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/jesus-teaches-us-another-way-go-out-go-out-and-share-your-testimony/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [There's certainly an issue of helping teachers to move to a new way of thinking about things, but there are also new methodologies one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-wolfram/there-s-certainly-an-issue-of-helping-teachers-to-move-to-a-new-way/) [Conrad Wolfram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-wolfram/) > [I am a teacher because teaching allows me to observe the universe at work, that moment when wakefulness suddenly occurs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-am-a-teacher-because-teaching-allows-me-to-observe-the-universe-at/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A teacher or teaching is not essential for spiritual awakening, but they save time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-teacher-or-teaching-is-not-essential-for-spiritual-awakening-but/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You cannot understand the teacher or their teaching without understanding the person the teacher is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/you-cannot-understand-the-teacher-or-their-teaching-without/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [Since God alone provides the means for the successful accomplishment of any task, it seems evident that a person needs to be called by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-moreau/since-god-alone-provides-the-means-for-the-successful-accomplishment/) [Basil Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-moreau/) > [Cultural dominance of middle-class norms prevail in middle-class schools with a teacher teaching toward those standards and with students striving to maintain those standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-coleman/cultural-dominance-of-middle-class-norms-prevail-in-middle-class/) [James S. Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-coleman/) > [A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-teacher-who-is-not-dogmatic-is-simply-a-teacher-who-is-not-teaching/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [An enlightened teacher teaches you how to gain power. They give you power. They teach you how to shape it so that it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/an-enlightened-teacher-teaches-you-how-to-gain-power-they-give-you/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [An excellent teacher not only teaches but also makes you believe that you can learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-excellent-teacher-not-only-teaches-but-also-makes-you-believe-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robert Sternberg > [In other words, unlike some people with new theories, we will go out, we'll go into a school and we get products and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/in-other-words-unlike-some-people-with-new-theories-we-will-go-out-we/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [Well, first of all, we did lots of studies where we show practical intelligence doesn't correlate with G. We have probably two dozen studies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/well-first-of-all-we-did-lots-of-studies-where-we-show-practical/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [But what many psychologists have done, probably because they did well on a test themselves and everyone wants high self esteem, is to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/but-what-many-psychologists-have-done-probably-because-they-did-well/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [If there's going to be an SAT, it's probably practical to invest in a book or perhaps in a course, but I'm sorry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/if-there-s-going-to-be-an-sat-it-s-probably-practical-to-invest-in-a/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [So, for example, if a child is labeled as having a learning disability, it has very concrete consequences for the kinds of services and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/so-for-example-if-a-child-is-labeled-as-having-a-learning-disability/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [I've taught statistics, math courses and what I've found is that often if you teach them algebraically the formulas, you'll have one group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/i-ve-taught-statistics-math-courses-and-what-i-ve-found-is-that-often/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [The world supports a multi-million dollar industry of intelligence and ability research, but it devotes virtually nothing to determine why this intelligence is squandered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/the-world-supports-a-multi-million-dollar-industry-of-intelligence/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [The problem is that there are very few technologies that essentially haven't changed for 60, 70 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/the-problem-is-that-there-are-very-few-technologies-that-essentially/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [I'm more of a creative learner, ... I do very well in projects, but I was not good at memorizing all of that material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/i-m-more-of-a-creative-learner-i-do-very-well-in-projects-but-i-was/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [There is no recipe to be a great teacher, that's what is unique about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/there-is-no-recipe-to-be-a-great-teacher-that-s-what-is-unique-about/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [And in order to succeed in later life, you need creative skills because look at how fast the world is changing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/and-in-order-to-succeed-in-later-life-you-need-creative-skills/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [Passion is the quickest to develop, and the quickest to fade. Intimacy develops more slowly, and commitment more gradually still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/passion-is-the-quickest-to-develop-and-the-quickest-to-fade-intimacy/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [And if we don't have a test, what we may end up doing is going back to what this country has done before. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/and-if-we-don-t-have-a-test-what-we-may-end-up-doing-is-going-back-to/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [There was already a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/there-was-already-a-famous-sternberg-in-psychology-and-it-was-obvious/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) > [I had planned to be a psychology major, but I bombed introductory psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sternberg/i-had-planned-to-be-a-psychology-major-but-i-bombed-introductory/) [Robert Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) [Explore all 30 Robert Sternberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sternberg/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 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