We are always offered advice, some good and some bad and the responsibility is ours in terms of which pieces of advice we pay attention to, and which we choose to dismiss. The reason I mention this is because I wanted to share some advice that was given to me may years ago by the great Kevin Rolle Alabama A&M University Vice President and educational mastermind. At that time I was struggling at the beginning of my teaching career, to find the focus and drive that I needed to improve. Mr Rolle told me that I should surround myself with great quotes to keep me encouraged, something which I almost ignored. I decided against my better judgement to follow his advice and the following quotes have been up in my office for years, helping me to stay motivated.
“The only person who is spiritually smart is the one who has learned how to learn, unlearn, and change directions instantly, and start all over again, if your soul calls for it.”
― Michelle Casto
“One of the hardest things for boys to learn is that a teacher is human. One of the hardest things for a teacher to learn is not to try and tell them.”
“An exceedingly confident student would in theory make a terrible student. Why would he take school seriously when he feels that he can outwit his teachers?”
― Criss Jami
“Proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you have always known.”
― Frank Herbert
“If our children were to grow up truthful they much be taught by those who had a regard for truth; and not just a casual regard, a delicate regard. On this point we were adamant.”
― Amy Carmichael
“People who teach you cram old ideas, old views, old ways, into you. Like covering plants with layer after layer of old earth; it’s no wonder the poor things so rarely come up fresh and green.”
― John Fowles
“Teach all men to fish, but first teach all men to be fair. Take less, give more. Give more of yourself, take less from the world. Nobody owes you anything, you owe the world everything.”
― Suzy Kassem
An alarming number of parents appear to have little confidence in their ability to “teach” their children. We should help parents understand the overriding importance of incidental teaching in the context of warm, consistent companionship. Such caring is usually the greatest teaching, especially if caring means sharing in the activities of the home.”
― Raymond S. Moore
“Make a difference, change the game for the better, leave a legacy, be a guide that someone else can follow and make better, and then someone else will follow that and make that better.”
― Carlos Wallace
These are just a few of my personal favourite quotes about teaching, if you have any more then feel free to share with us in the comments section below.
