--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People say you can't teach writing, but I…" description: "\"People say you can't teach writing, but I think that's nonsense.\" — Tracy Kidder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/tracy-kidder-8859_education_people-say-you-can-t-teach-writing-but-i_1486024.jpg" --- # People say you can't teach writing, but I think that's… ![“People say you can't teach writing, but I think that's nonsense.” quote by Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/tracy-kidder-8859_education_people-say-you-can-t-teach-writing-but-i_1486024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/tracy-kidder-8859_education_people-say-you-can-t-teach-writing-but-i_1486024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/tracy-kidder-8859_education_people-say-you-can-t-teach-writing-but-i_1486024.jpg) > “People say you can't teach writing, but I think that's nonsense.” [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing can be taught through practice and feedback, contrary to the myth it’s innate. **In simple terms:** Writing skills are learnable. Key Takeaway Teach writing with structured practice. Themes education skill development creativity Mood educational practical Type instructional motivational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - workshop facilitation - online courses Key Concepts pedagogy learning theory communication Questions to Reflect On - What methods best teach writing? - How do you keep learners engaged? A Different Perspective Some learners may lack motivation despite instruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [People say you cant teach writing, but I think thats nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/people-say-you-cant-teach-writing-but-i-think-thats-nonsense/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“They say you should always teach a person’s name first. That way, even if they never learn to write anything else, they’ll always have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/they-say-you-should-always-teach-a-person-s-name-first-that-way-even/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [We teach little by what we say... We teach more by what we do... We teach most by what we are... Be a shining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-teach-little-by-what-we-say-we-teach-more-by-what-we-do-we-teach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who can't do, teach. And, as Woody Allen says, those who can't teach, teach gym. And, as I say, those who can't teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/those-who-can-t-do-teach-and-as-woody-allen-says-those-who-can-t/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [You teach a little by what you say. You teach most by what you are,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrietta-mears/you-teach-a-little-by-what-you-say-you-teach-most-by-what-you-are/) [Henrietta Mears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrietta-mears/) > [When I was 13 I would come to school with makeup and nail polish and I had teachers who would say, 'We can't teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/when-i-was-13-i-would-come-to-school-with-makeup-and-nail-polish-and/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) > [“It’s hardly the time for sense, I should think, since nonsense has been serving us so well”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-patten/it-s-hardly-the-time-for-sense-i-should-think-since-nonsense-has-been/) [E.J. Patten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-patten/) > [People whose views are swung when you get into these ridiculous debates - I think they're all nonsense. You've got to have a fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/people-whose-views-are-swung-when-you-get-into-these-ridiculous/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [They don't understand the multi-life sequences. Anything they can't see in a laboratory, they think is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/they-don-t-understand-the-multi-life-sequences-anything-they-can-t/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“cult leaders and authoritarian tyrants repeat their message endlessly. 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One: to be playful, be curious and curiouser, and 2: to make meaning out what seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/i-think-nonsense-raises-two-human-urges-one-to-be-playful-be-curious/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [What makes you think that nonsense is bad? If they'd nurtured and cared for human nonsense over the ages the way they did intelligence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-makes-you-think-that-nonsense-is-bad-if-they-d-nurtured-and/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [I don't teach writing. I teach patience. Toughness. Stubbornness. The willingness to fail. I teach the life. The odd thing is most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bausch/i-don-t-teach-writing-i-teach-patience-toughness-stubbornness-the/) [Richard Bausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bausch/) ## More by Tracy Kidder > [“He sniffed, and said as others had before him and others no doubt would again, "I have learned never to say, 'Never again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/he-sniffed-and-said-as-others-had-before-him-and-others-no-doubt/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [Don't worry about being worried. You're heading out on an adventure and you can always change your mind along the way and try something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/don-t-worry-about-being-worried-you-re-heading-out-on-an-adventure/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [I do believe that enduring geological features are important, though I don't think I can be clear about exactly why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/i-do-believe-that-enduring-geological-features-are-important-though-i/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“In the process Paul laid out a comprehensive theory of poverty, of a world designed by the elites of all nations to serve their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/in-the-process-paul-laid-out-a-comprehensive-theory-of-poverty-of-a/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“Farmer liked to tell his Harvard students that to be a good clinician you must never let a patient know that you have problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/farmer-liked-to-tell-his-harvard-students-that-to-be-a-good-clinician/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“One shouldn't expect anyone to be complete at any given moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/one-shouldn-t-expect-anyone-to-be-complete-at-any-given-moment/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [I want my prose to be as clear as a pane of glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/i-want-my-prose-to-be-as-clear-as-a-pane-of-glass/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [What I like about non-fiction is that it covers such a huge territory. 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Ed Rasala. 111”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/nothing-every-happens-unless-you-push-it-ed-rasala-111/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [Curing yourself of obsessive compulsive disorder by going to a strip club is pretty strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/curing-yourself-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-by-going-to-a-strip/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) [Explore all 77 Tracy Kidder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) ## 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. 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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. 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