Most subjects at universities are taught for no other purpose than that they may be re-taught when the students become teachers.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
—John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (1834–1913) British Banker, Scientist, Polymath
What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Teachers perform major miracles in America, daily.
—Meryl Streep (b.1949) American Actor
Lessons of wisdom have the most power over us when they capture the heart through the groundwork of a story, which engages the passions.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
An understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
Those who know how to think need no teachers.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
I am a teacher. A teacher is someone who leads. There is no magic here. I do not walk on water, I do not part the sea. I just love children.
—Marva Collins (1936–2015) American Educator
All practical teachers know that education is a patient process of mastery of details, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English Mathematician, Philosopher
First he wrought, and afterward he taught.
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) English Poet, Philosopher, Diplomat, Bureaucrat
Those who educate children well are more to be honored than even their parents, for these only give them life, those the art of living well.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
It is easier for a tutor to command than to teach.
—John Locke (1632–1704) English Philosopher, Physician
The real difficulty, the difficulty which has baffled the sages of all times, is rather this: how can we make our teaching so potent in the motional life of man, that its influence should withstand the pressure of the elemental psychic forces in the individual?
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
You teach best what you most need to learn.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Writer, Aviator
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.
—Mark Van Doren (1894–1972) American Poet, Writer, Critic
The secret of teaching is to appear to have known all your life what you just learned this morning.
—Indian Proverb
Your Master Teacher knows all you need to learn, the perfect timing for your learning it, and the ideal way of teaching it to you. You don’t create a Master Teacher—that’s already been done. You discover your Master Teacher.
—Peter McWilliams (1949–2000) American Author, Self-Help Writer
In the education of children there is nothing like alluring the interest and affection, otherwise you only make so many asses laden with books.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace the day’s disasters in his morning face.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
—William Arthur Ward (1921–94) American Author
The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.
—Indian Proverb
The one exclusive sign of a thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.
—Helen Caldicott (b.1938) Australian Physician, Activist
Never offer to teach a fish to swim.
—Common Proverb
The first duty of a lecturer is to hand you after an hour’s discourse a nugget of pure truth to wrap up between the pages of your notebooks and keep on the mantelpiece forever.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
—Socrates (469BCE–399BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Fear is not a good teacher. The lessons of fear are quickly forgotten.
—Mary Catherine Bateson (1939–2021) American Cultural Anthropologist, Author
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