--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is important to engage students by…" description: "\"It is important to engage students by focussing at what they wanted to do, rather than forcing them to do something.\" — Sonam Wangchuk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg" --- # It is important to engage students by focussing at what… ![“It is important to engage students by focussing at what they wanted to do, rather than forcing them to do something.” quote by Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg) > “It is important to engage students by focussing at what they wanted to do, rather than forcing them to do something.” [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Engage learners by aligning tasks with their interests rather than imposing unrelated activities. **In simple terms:** Teach what they want. Key Takeaway Design curricula around student interests. Themes education engagement student‑centered learning motivation curriculum design Mood optimistic practical Type advice educational When to use this quote - classroom - online courses - skill workshops Key Concepts intrinsic motivation personalized learning pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - How can you discover students’ true interests? - What barriers exist to interest‑based teaching? A Different Perspective Resources may be limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been interested in how other people live their lives, which is why it's important to engage fully even in painful times. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-adlon/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-how-other-people-live-their-lives/) [Pamela Adlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-adlon/) > [It's important to engage with governments around the world in how they're thinking about AI - to help inform them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dean/it-s-important-to-engage-with-governments-around-the-world-in-how/) [Jeff Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dean/) > [There is something myopic and stunted in focussing only on the meaning of words and sentences. And this myopia is especially unfortunate when combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/there-is-something-myopic-and-stunted-in-focussing-only-on-the/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [“Focussing on anything can take you to new heights and in a shorter time frame”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahemad-r-kazi/focussing-on-anything-can-take-you-to-new-heights-and-in-a-shorter/) Ahemad R Kazi > [When I was not doing well, I was just focussing on my processes. And when I am doing well, I am still focussing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shikhar-dhawan/when-i-was-not-doing-well-i-was-just-focussing-on-my-processes-and/) [Shikhar Dhawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shikhar-dhawan/) > [You really need to spend a lot of your time focussing people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-rabois/you-really-need-to-spend-a-lot-of-your-time-focussing-people/) [Keith Rabois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-rabois/) > [I'm focussing on what I haven't attained, not what I have. A lot has come to me early. I don't want to get consumed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-rodriguez/i-m-focussing-on-what-i-haven-t-attained-not-what-i-have-a-lot-has/) [Alex Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-rodriguez/) > [“As educators, we can’t sit on the sidelines watching it happen. We have to recognize that students’ use of technology is stronger and work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-schrum/as-educators-we-can-t-sit-on-the-sidelines-watching-it-happen-we-have/) [Lynne Schrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-schrum/) > [“Scaffolding is applied in this context, not to engage students through authentic and meaningful activities, but to transmit a designated set of skills and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-crawford/scaffolding-is-applied-in-this-context-not-to-engage-students-through/) [James Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-crawford/) > [Scientists need to be prepared to engage, and the best people to engage with are students, ideally from primary school because there's no question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/scientists-need-to-be-prepared-to-engage-and-the-best-people-to/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [I strive to find materials that will engage students, expand their capacities as critical readers and thinkers, and feel immediately relevant to their daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-strive-to-find-materials-that-will-engage-students-expand-their/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [We've heard from many teachers that they used episodes of Star Trek and concepts of Star Trek in their science classrooms in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stewart/we-ve-heard-from-many-teachers-that-they-used-episodes-of-star-trek/) [Patrick Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stewart/) > [“If we want to engage students in learning, we need to first understand their world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-schrum/if-we-want-to-engage-students-in-learning-we-need-to-first-understand/) [Lynne Schrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-schrum/) > [“I argue here and throughout this book that if we engage students in real writing tasks and we use technology in such a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-hicks/i-argue-here-and-throughout-this-book-that-if-we-engage-students-in/) Troy Hicks > [“Regardless of your subject matter, there are ways to engage students in critical thinking about racism which are relevant to your discipline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-daniel-tatum/regardless-of-your-subject-matter-there-are-ways-to-engage-students/) [Beverly Daniel Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-daniel-tatum/) ## More by Sonam Wangchuk > [The Indian government has been taking some lead in several environmental initiatives, like the international solar alliance, many green initiatives in schools, lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/the-indian-government-has-been-taking-some-lead-in-several/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [There weren't any schools in my village, so I learnt to read and write from my mother. I played in the fields, sowing seeds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/there-weren-t-any-schools-in-my-village-so-i-learnt-to-read-and-write/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [When I started my engineering, I had to support my education expenses; I was then studying in what is now the National Institute of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/when-i-started-my-engineering-i-had-to-support-my-education-expenses/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Don't blame the child for forgetting lessons; make the lessons unforgettable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/don-t-blame-the-child-for-forgetting-lessons-make-the-lessons/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Education needs to be linked with life and should take into count the ground situation in different parts of India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/education-needs-to-be-linked-with-life-and-should-take-into-count-the/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Ladakh has changed a lot. Flash floods are common, followed by drought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/ladakh-has-changed-a-lot-flash-floods-are-common-followed-by-drought/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [I always say please live a simple life in the city so that we can lead a simple life in the mountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/i-always-say-please-live-a-simple-life-in-the-city-so-that-we-can/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Ladakhi life is very fine-tuned with nature. We don't want it to become like cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/ladakhi-life-is-very-fine-tuned-with-nature-we-don-t-want-it-to/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Yes, though trained as an engineer, I shifted to education as I realized that the system needed to be changed; I saw so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/yes-though-trained-as-an-engineer-i-shifted-to-education-as-i/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [A lot of times we hear that nothing good can happen in government schools. The reason nothing can happen is that the children of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/a-lot-of-times-we-hear-that-nothing-good-can-happen-in-government/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [I expect nothing from the government but I expect everything from people. There is a need to update ourselves, our values and lifestyle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/i-expect-nothing-from-the-government-but-i-expect-everything-from/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [I believe that schools of today with all their answers on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, above everything else, take us back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/i-believe-that-schools-of-today-with-all-their-answers-on-science/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [We should choose simple ways of living... to live in harmony with nature by adopting simpler technologies and using natural resources innovatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/we-should-choose-simple-ways-of-living-to-live-in-harmony-with-nature/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [We in the Himalayas have the problem of glaciers melting away and we had to make our own glaciers and I don't consider them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/we-in-the-himalayas-have-the-problem-of-glaciers-melting-away-and-we/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [We need to explore our own deserts and land, which need to be healed and managed on the planet itself. It is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/we-need-to-explore-our-own-deserts-and-land-which-need-to-be-healed/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) [Explore all 36 Sonam Wangchuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) ## 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. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [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/) > [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. (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 is important to engage students by focussing at what they wanted to do, rather than forcing them to do something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sonam Wangchuk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-focussing-at-what-they-wanted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-focussing-at-what-they-wanted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/sonam-wangchuk-17960_education_it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-fo_395247.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is important to engage students by focussing at what they wanted to do, rather than forcing them to do…” — Sonam Wangchuk", "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": "Sonam Wangchuk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is important to engage students...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-focussing-at-what-they-wanted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/it-is-important-to-engage-students-by-focussing-at-what-they-wanted/#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 } } ] } ```