--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is it that teaching kills? The…" description: "\"“What is it that teaching kills? The juice, the sap - the substance of revelation: by making even the insoluble questions & multiple possible answers t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/sylvia-plath-149_creative-energy_what-is-it-that-teaching-kills-the-juice_181930.jpg" --- # What is it that teaching kills? The juice, the sap - the… ![“What is it that teaching kills? The juice, the sap - the substance of revelation: by making even the insoluble questions & multiple possible answers take on the granite assured stance of dogma. It does not kill this quick of life in students who come, each year, fresh, quick, to be awakened & pass…” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/sylvia-plath-149_creative-energy_what-is-it-that-teaching-kills-the-juice_181930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/sylvia-plath-149_creative-energy_what-is-it-that-teaching-kills-the-juice_181930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/sylvia-plath-149_creative-energy_what-is-it-that-teaching-kills-the-juice_181930.jpg) > ““What is it that teaching kills? The juice, the sap - the substance of revelation: by making even the insoluble questions & multiple possible answers take on the granite assured stance of dogma. It does not kill this quick of life in students who come, each year, fresh, quick, to be awakened & pass on - but it kills the quick in me by forcing to formula the great visions, the great collocations and cadences of words and meanings. The good teacher, the proper teacher, must be everliving in faith and ever-renewed in creative energy to keep the sap packed in herself, himself, as well as the work. I do not have the energy, or will to use the energy I have, and it would take all, to keep this flame alive.”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching can stifle creativity when it forces rigid structures, draining the vitality of both teacher and student. **In simple terms:** Rigid teaching can kill creativity and enthusiasm. Key Takeaway Balance structure with creative freedom. Themes education creativity teacher burnout Mood thoughtful inspired Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - classroom instruction - curriculum design - personal artistic practice Key Concepts pedagogy inspiration energy management Questions to Reflect On - How can teachers maintain creative energy? - What practices keep learning lively? A Different Perspective Too much rigidity may hinder learning and personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-energy/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Good teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-teacher/) ## Related quotes > [Life is very hard, isn't it? It does kill you, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/life-is-very-hard-isn-t-it-it-does-kill-you-after-all/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [“What does not kill us makes us hotter!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-benjamin/what-does-not-kill-us-makes-us-hotter/) Nell Benjamin > [That which does not kill me can only make me stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-which-does-not-kill-me-can-only-make-me-stronger/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How does one kill fear, I wonder? How do you shoot a specter through the heart, slash off its spectral head, take it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/how-does-one-kill-fear-i-wonder-how-do-you-shoot-a-specter-through/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Work does not kill you, food does. God does not kill you, food does. Food is your first and last enemy. If you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/work-does-not-kill-you-food-does-god-does-not-kill-you-food-does-food/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [What does not kill you will make you stronger and more cynical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-zafra/what-does-not-kill-you-will-make-you-stronger-and-more-cynical/) [Jessica Zafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-zafra/) > [“Pain does not kill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-grey/pain-does-not-kill/) [Serena Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-grey/) > [No we do not kill them. I'm practically in his lap with my head against his chest listening to his heart beat. A steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/no-we-do-not-kill-them-i-m-practically-in-his-lap-with-my-head/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [“That which does not kill us, makes us write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-poet-dreamer/that-which-does-not-kill-us-makes-us-write/) The Poet Dreamer > [That which does not kill me, has made a grave tactical error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/that-which-does-not-kill-me-has-made-a-grave-tactical-error/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [What does not kill me makes me stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-does-not-kill-me-makes-me-stronger/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [That which does not kill you will ultimately make you stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-niemoller/that-which-does-not-kill-you-will-ultimately-make-you-stronger/) [Martin Niemoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-niemoller/) > [There is one thing I can say about working in a steel mill. If it does not kill you, it will make a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klein/there-is-one-thing-i-can-say-about-working-in-a-steel-mill-if-it-does/) Chuck Klein > [That which does not kill you isn't finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/that-which-does-not-kill-you-isn-t-finished/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [“What does not kill you will make you stronger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nietzche/what-does-not-kill-you-will-make-you-stronger/) [Nietzche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nietzche/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? 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Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Creative energy quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [I get my most creative energy after a show, so I love to go back to the hotel and compose new material. I generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-get-my-most-creative-energy-after-a-show-so-i-love-to-go-back-to/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [We wasted a lot of creative energy in that immediate post colonial era, when there was a struggle between, you know, the Cold War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/we-wasted-a-lot-of-creative-energy-in-that-immediate-post-colonial/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I'm a terrible cook, but if I could cook, I would see that in art as well, it's how much creative energy you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/i-m-a-terrible-cook-but-if-i-could-cook-i-would-see-that-in-art-as/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [The real challenge in doing a TV show is in what I would call the maintenance energy. You take that creative energy and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/the-real-challenge-in-doing-a-tv-show-is-in-what-i-would-call-the/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that. Sometimes your creative energy is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/if-you-feel-bored-or-uncomfortable-as-you-re-writing-ask-yourself/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Barcelona is an open and multicultural city. It's brimming with a very special creative energy. If you pay attention, you may be easily inspired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia/barcelona-is-an-open-and-multicultural-city-it-s-brimming-with-a-very/) [Rosalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia/) > [I believe that children long for form just as grownups do, and that it releases rather than cramps creative energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-believe-that-children-long-for-form-just-as-grownups-do-and-that-it/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Fear kills, want to kill. Fear is destructive. Love is creative energy. When you love you would like to create - you may like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/fear-kills-want-to-kill-fear-is-destructive-love-is-creative-energy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Where some people have a self, most people have a void, because they are too busy in wasting their vital creative energy to project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/where-some-people-have-a-self-most-people-have-a-void-because-they/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Sex energy is the creative energy of all geniuses. There never has been, and never will be a great leader, builder or artist lacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/sex-energy-is-the-creative-energy-of-all-geniuses-there-never-has/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [How much time, creative energy, and emotion do we expend resisting change because we assume growth must always be painful? Much personal growth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/how-much-time-creative-energy-and-emotion-do-we-expend-resisting/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Life always delivers the creative energy you need to change into the new thing you must become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/life-always-delivers-the-creative-energy-you-need-to-change-into-the/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [ This place \[USA\] is exploding with young people who are - they're like Nietzsche's hammer - going to break everything and make something better.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/this-place-usa-is-exploding-with-young-people-who-are-they-re-like/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) [Browse all 156 Creative energy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-energy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What is it that teaching kills? 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