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It is not an exaggeration to say that teachers change lives. There are so many children who look up to them not only for gaining knowledge but also for building a strong character. They are the most influential role models for the development of children’s personality and their responsibility is way beyond than just academic enrichment. It is not just about the mid-terms and the standardized tests rather, it is more about providing children with life lessons so that they grow up to be strong, decisive individuals.
Being a teacher is definitely not an easy job. If parents are responsible for bringing up their own children to become confident adults then teachers are accountable to provide the best character to children and for their well-being inside and out. This definitely means that there is a lot of pressure on the teachers to meet all these demands gracefully and come out as stronger individuals who are ready to train some more children.
For teachers who are trying hard to meet their job requirements and set the best examples for their students, here are a few quotations which will help in motivating and inspiring them.
On Sharing Knowledge
Sharing knowledge is the essence of teaching but every teacher must realize that not all students learn the same way. According to educational psychology, if a teacher is instructing a class of students about the 50 states of America then she must do it in three different ways. The three distinct ways must target the visual learner, the auditory learner, and the kinesthetic learner individually.
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- “Knowledge is like money: to be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.” – Louis L’Amour
- “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” – Father James Keller
- “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” – Oscar Wilde
- “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” – Margaret Fuller
- “In vain have you acquired knowledge if you have not imparted it to others.” – Deuteronomy Rabbah
- “In today’s environment, hoarding knowledge ultimately erodes your power. If you know something very important, the way to get power is by actually sharing it.” – Joseph Badaracco
- “Often, we are too slow to recognize how much and in what ways we can assist each other through sharing such expertise and knowledge.” – Owen Arthur
- “Knowledge increases by sharing but not by saving.” – Kamari aka Lyrikal
- “Sharing will enrich everyone with more knowledge.” – Ana Monnar
- “To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
- “The store of wisdom does not consist of hard coins which keep their shape as they pass from hand to hand; it consists of ideas and doctrines whose meanings change with the minds that entertain them.” – John Plamenatz
- “We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed.” – Charles Caleb Colton
- “The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.” – Leo.F. Buscaglia
- “Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes.” – Peter Senge
- “Knowledge is embodied in people gathered in communities and networks. The road to knowledge is via people, conversations, connections and relationships. Knowledge surfaces through dialog, all knowledge is socially mediated and access to knowledge is by connecting to people that know or know who to contact.” – Denham Grey
- “Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.” – Dalai Lama
- “If you aren’t sharing knowledge, you are no different from the guy who files false workers’ compensation insurance claims.” – Jack Vinson
- “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”- Aristotle
- “…Writings can be stolen, or changed, or used for evil purposes. But isn’t the risk worth taking? The more people who share knowledge, the greater safeguard for it. Isn’t there more danger in ignorance than knowledge?” – Lloyd Alexander
- “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin
On Patience
What do you understand of the word patience? It is the bearing of any kind of difficulty, misfortune, or annoyances without losing your temper or even complaining. The greatest teachers are always patient with their students no matter how disobedient they are or how many mistakes they make. Being patient indicates discipline and self-control and if a teacher possesses these qualities then they are likely to emulate them in the students too. Consider Helen Keller’s words here, “The most important day I remember in all my life (emphasis mine) is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me.” This is the gratitude shown by a special student to her teacher who bore with her disobedience and disability. It was her quality of patience that made Helen the strong woman she was.
- “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
- “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” – Napoleon Hill
- “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson
- “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” – Saadi
- “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.” – Elon Musk
- “The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.” – Erik Erikson
- “The practice of patience toward one another, the overlooking of one another’s defects, and the bearing of one another’s burdens is the most elementary condition of all human and social activity in the family, in the professions, and in society.” – Lawrence G. Lovasik
- “Obstacles, of course, are developmentally necessary: they teach kids strategy, patience, critical thinking, resilience and resourcefulness.” – Naomi Wolf
- “A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation.” – Moliere
- “But ‘not giving up’ requires a certain level of patience, of hours and hours, and sometimes days or weeks, months or years of trying and perfecting.”- V. Noot
- “Learning patience can be a difficult experience, but once conquered you will find life is easier.” – Catherine Pulsifer
- “Struggles often serve to release the wisdom, patience, and strength we all possess but too seldom demonstrate.”- Jim Stovall
- “When you encounter various trials, big or small, be full of joy. They’re opportunities to learn patience.” –Scott Curran
- “If you lack patience and are not comfortable around groups of people, you are unlikely to make a great teacher.” –Rachel Robins
- “By staying on top of your reactions you will be able to develop patience and tolerance; two distinct traits required for achieving long-term success.” –Annabelle Higgins
- “You also have to keep in mind that although you may have done a chore hundreds of times in the past, your team helpers have not. It is all new to them, and it behooves you to show patience and give them the necessary training and mentoring to gain courage and self-confidence.” –Charles C. Malone
- “The top two habits that will decide between success and failure, between real change and staying in the same place are patience and perseverance.” –Marc Reklau
- “When it comes to increasing motivation and self-control, you have to remain patient and allow your mind to adapt to the new changes.” –Jill Hesson
On Self-Learning
The process of learning never stops for a living person because if it does, s/he is indeed dead. One can never feel that s/he has learned enough because this is one thought which can cause you an eternal failure. As Plutarch says, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited.” These words beautifully describe the human mind as fire which keeps on igniting itself harder unlike a vessel of water which can be filled only to a certain point.
A teacher must never think that her/his learning phase has ended because then s/he’ll never be able to pick up the splendid insights from her/his students who have a strong mind. Keenly listen to the students and observe their behavior closely because these newly developing minds have the ability to question what seemed to be true.
- “A teacher who establishes rapport with the taught, becomes one with them, learns more from them than he teaches them.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” – Phil Collins
- “To teach is to learn twice over.” – Joseph Joubert
- “Don’t try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior.” – Marva Collins
- “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” – Joseph Brodsky
- “Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.” – Abigail Adams
- “People learn something every day, and a lot of times it’s that what they learned the day before was wrong.” – Bill Vaughan
- “Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?” – Erich Fromm
- “All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.” – Martin H. Fischer
- “Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered. It is something molded.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
- “Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
- “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
- “No matter how he may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world.” – Frances Willard
- “A teacher who loves learning earns the right and the ability to help others learn.”-Ruth Beechick
- “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B.King
- “Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student.” – George Iles
- “All of the top achievers I know are life-long learners. Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas. If they’re not learning, they’re not growing and not moving toward excellence.” – Denis Waitley
- “You learn something every day if you pay attention.” – Ray LeBlond
- “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
- “Learning is never done without errors and defeat.” – Vladimir Lenin
On Positivity
Mr. Harekrushna Behera, Unchahar, a teacher and personal tutor wrote in Teacher, Do You Smile? “(A) smile is the expression of love. It’s the magnet, which pulls all towards it. Everybody wants a smile. A teacher touches the heart of a student through the magnetic touch of smile. (A) smile creates confidence (and learning) happens only when students start liking the teacher. ..” Smiling is one of the signs of positivity and it provides numerous benefits to the children. A teacher who has a positive attitude will be able to impart that positivity in children causing them to have low stress levels and an improved immune system.
- “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
- “It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.” – Jacob Bronowski
- “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.” – Mary Kay Ash
- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
- ” Believe in yourself, be strong, never give up no matter what the circumstances are. You are a champion and will overcome the dreaded obstacles. Champions take failure as a learning opportunity, so take in all you can, and run with it. Be your best and don’t ever ever give up.” – Brad Gerrard
- “Nothing we ever imagined is beyond our powers, only beyond our present self-knowledge” – Theodore Roszak
- “One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he could not do.” – Henry Ford
- ” The only dreams impossible to reach are the ones you never pursue.” – Michael Deckman
- ” There two types of people; the can do and the can’t. Which are you?” – George R. Cabrera
- “Positive expectations are the mark of the superior personality.”-Brian Tracy
- “Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.” – Leah LaBelle
- “A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success.” – Joyce Brothers
- “Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you.” – Les Brown
- “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Willie Nelson
- “Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” – Hans Selye
- “You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.” – Joyce Meyer
- “Work hard, stay positive, and get up early. It’s the best part of the day.” – George Allen, Sr.
- “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller
- “Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.” – Jack Canfield
- “I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we’re all teachers – if we’re willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door.” – Marla Gibbs
On Strong Character
Alexander the Great once said. “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” His teacher was none other than the legendary philosopher Aristotle who taught him the true meaning of life and made him the great man he was. It is a strong character and vigilant mind of the teacher that teaches so much to the child enabling him to portray a strong persona of himself. It is up to the teacher on how he will deal with his students because, at the end of the day, that attitude is going to be the strongest learning resource for all his students.
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- “[Kids] don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.”
–Jim Henson - “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”- William Arthur Ward
- “True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their
own.”-Nikos Kazantzakis - “No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”-Kahlil Gibran
- “I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.”
–Haim G. Ginott - “When you want to teach children to think, you begin by treating them seriously when they are little, giving them responsibilities, talking to them candidly, providing privacy and solitude for them, and making them readers and thinkers of significant thoughts from the beginning. That’s if you want to teach them to think.”-Bertrand Russell
- “Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.” –John Wooden
- “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.”- Aristotle
- “There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.”
– Robert Frost - “When you study great teachers… you will learn much more from their caring and hard work than from their style.”-William Glasser
- “The real heroes are the librarians and teachers who at no small risk to themselves refuse to lie down and play dead for censors.” –Bruce Coville
- “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.”-Karl A. Menninger
- “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher that will be the biggest honor for me.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
- “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” – Brad Henry
- “I am a teacher. It’s how I define myself. A good teacher isn’t someone who gives the answers out to their kids but is understanding of needs and challenges and gives tools to help other people succeed. That’s the way I see myself, so whatever it is that I will do eventually after politics, it’ll have to do a lot with teaching.” – Justin Trudeau
- “A good teacher, like a good entertainer first must hold his audience’s attention, then he can teach his lesson.” – John Henrik Clarke
- “One good teacher in a lifetime may sometimes change a delinquent into a solid citizen.” – Philip Wylie
- “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”- Malala Yousafzai
- “We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.”-Stephen King
- “Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.” – Henry Ford
Related: 50 Motivational Quotes for Students
