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TEACHERS / TEACHING

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see: "EXPLANATION"
see: "INSPIRATION"
see "KNOWLEDGE" for other related links
see "WORK" for other related links


A teacher affects eternity; he can never
tell where his influence stops.
--Henry Brooks Adams (1838—1918)
American historian & man of letters.
_The Education of Henry Adams_ [1907]

She used to be a school teacher
but she has no class now.
--Fred Allen [John Florence Sullivan] (1894—1956)
American humorist.

You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.
--Aristophanes (c. 450—c. 388 BC)
Greek comic dramatist.
_Peace_ [421 B.C.] l. 1083

-

It was a saying of his ... that those parents who gave their
children a good education deserved more honor than those
who merely beget them; for that the latter only enabled their
children to live, but the former gave them the power of
living well.
--Aristotle (384—322 B.C.)
Greek philosopher.
In Diogenes Laertius
_Lives of the Eminent Philosophers_, bk V, sec. 11.


The proof that you know something is
that you are able to teach it.
--Aristotle (384—322 B.C.)
Greek philosopher.
In Jean Guitton's _A Student's Guide to Intellectual Work_ [1951].

-

There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit
and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.
--Roger Ascham (1515—1568)
English scholar, writer, and courtier.
_The Schoolmaster_ [1570]

In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It
is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.
--Jacques Barzun (1907— )
French-born American writer, educator, and cultural historian.

Teaching is probably the noblest profession in the world —
the most unselfish, difficult, and honorable profession. But
it is also the most unappreciated, underrated, underpaid,
and under-praised profession in the world.
--Leonard Bernstein (1918—1990)
American composer "West Side Story," and
conductor of the New York Philarmonic [1958—1969].

A teacher's major contribution may pop out
anonymously in the life of some ex-student's
grandchild.
--Wendell Berry (1934— )
American poet, novelist, essayist, philosopher and farmer.
"Wallace Stegner and the Great Community,"
_What Are People For?: Essays_ [1990]

Train a child in the way he should go; and
when he is old, he will not depart from it.
--Bible
"Proverbs" 22:6

Many teachers of the Sixties generation said "We will
steal your children", and they did. A significant part
of America has converted to the ideas of the 1960s —
hedonism, self-indulgence and consumerism. For half of
all Americans today, the Woodstock culture of the Sixties
is the culture they grew up with — their traditional
culture. For them, Judeo-Christian culture is outside
the mainstream now. The counter-culture has become
the dominant culture, and the former culture a dissident
culture — something that is far out, and 'extreme'.
--Patrick Buchanan (1938— )
American journalist, author, and candidate for U.S. President.

That is the difference between good teachers and great teachers:
good teachers make the best of a pupil's means: great teachers
foresee a pupil's ends.
--Maria Callas (1923—1977)
American-born operatic soprano.

A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.
--Thomas Carruthers

Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the
universe, a moment that will never be again... And what
do we teach our children? We teach them that two and
two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France.
When will we also teach them what they are? We should
say to them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel.
You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there
has never been another child like you. Your legs, your
arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may
become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo, a Beethoven.
You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel.
And when you grow up, can you then harm another who
is, like you, a marvel? You must work — we must all work
— to make the world worthy of its children.
--Pablo Casals (1876—1973)
Spanish-born cellist and conductor.

Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
--Chinese proverb

He that undertakes the education of a child
undertakes the most important duty of
society.
--Thomas Day (1748—1789)
English author.
In James Kerr (ed.)
_An Account of the Life and Writings of Thomas Day_ [1791].

When the lessons and tasks are all ended,
And the school for the day is dismissed,
The little ones gather around me,
To bid me good-night and be kissed;
On, the little white arms that encircle
My neck in their tender embrace
Oh, the smiles that are halos of heaven,
Shedding sunshine of love on my face.
--Charles Monroe Dickinson (1842—1924)
American author, journalist, and diplomat.
_The Children_

You cannot teach a man anything; you
can only help him find it within himself.
--Galileo Galilei (1564—1642)
Tuscan astronomer and physicist.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
--Kahlil Gibran (1883—1931)
Lebanese poet.

I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive
element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that
creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the
weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to
make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be the tool
of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate
or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response
that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or
de-escalated, and a child humanised or de-humanised.
--Haim Ginott
Israeli-born teacher and author of parenting books.

-

Hold their noses to grindstone.
--John Heywood (1497—1580)
English playwright.
_Proverbs_ [1546]


A man may well bring a horse to the water,
But he cannot make him drink without the will.
--John Heywood (1497—1580)
English playwright.
_Proverbs_ [1546]

-

A volcano enlightens, but the morning enlightens still better.
--Victor Hugo (1802—1885)
French poet, dramatist, and novelist.
_Les Misιrables_ [1862]

Men grow to the stature to which they
are stretched when they are young.
--Antony Jay (1930— )
English broadcaster and writer.
_Management and Machiavelli: An Inquiry into the Politics of Corporate Life_ [1967]

To teach is to learn twice.
--Joseph Joubert (1754—1824)
French philosopher.

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.

If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will
see. If you let me experience, I will learn.
--Lao-tzu (c. 6th cent. B.C.)
the first philosopher of Chinese Taoism and alleged author of
the _Tao-te Ching_ (Chinese: Classic of the Way of Power).

A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work
than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discoverers
are among them, as comets amongst the stars.
--Linnaeus [Carl von Linnι] (1707—1778)
Swedish botanist and explorer.
Quoted in _Biography of Linnaeus_ by Benjamin Daydon Jones.

A Chicago high school punished truants by making
them listen to Frank Sinatra records.
--Bill Mandel
"The Year 1992: Calling It Like It Was"
_San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle_ [20 December 1992]

The teacher who is attempting to teach without
first inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is
hammering on cold iron.
--Horace Mann (1796—1859)
American educator.

If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an
intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should
remain within the cloistered walls of the university and
laboratory until one gets a better grasp of one's subject
matter.
--Margaret Mead (1901—1978)
American anthropologist.
Quoted in "Redbook" magazine [July 1963].

Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember.
Involve me, and I'll understand.
--Native American Proverb

Kindling of interest is the great function of the teacher. People
sometimes say, "I should like to teach only pupils who cared to
learn." But then, there would be little need of teaching.
--George Herbert Palmer (1842-1933)
American educator, philosopher, and author.
_Four Characteristics Which Every Teacher Must Possess_

-

kap posts to USENET:

[. . . ] A few years ago I wanted to interest my kids in the stock market
so I got a bunch of books on finance from the library; condensed each
one into 15-20 typewriten pages, and sent the 'book reports' to my two
kids. I must have sent them 20 reports which took me about 6 months
to complete. Anyway, after about the 5th report, I thought, "Let's see
if either of them is reading these."

So early on in the 5th report I listed six or so assets and said, "whichever of
you can tell me which asset is worth the most wins all six." Then I listed them:

1 share of General Electric
500 Mexican pesos
6 ounces of silver
etc.

All they had to do was to look up the values in the newspaper - it would have
taken them less than thirty minutes. Alas, neither called. About a year later I
told the both of them what I had done, and we had a good laugh. But even
then neither of them got back to me - because they must have thrown the
darn things away.

--kap

-

Suppose Bobby Jones or Mozart had not been allowed to begin his
music or his golf until the other children did, or to practice or progress
faster, or had only the instruction of a school class in music or physical
education. Suppose they had been kept from playing with older children
or adults in the fear that they might become socially maladjusted, kept
from associating much with older musicians or golfers because that
would be narrowing and undemocratic. Kept from public performance
or tournaments because that would be exploiting the child! It surely
may be questioned whether they would then have reached the
prominence they did. Abuses in the afore-mentioned directions are,
of course, possible. But, it is also an abuse to withhold opportunities
from precocious youngsters who are eager to advance and excel.
--Sidney L. Pressey,
Scientific Monthly [September 1955]

We must remember that one man is much the same as
another, and that he is best who is trained in the
severest school.
--Thucydides (c.460—c.400 B.C.)
Greek historian of Athens.
_Peloponnesian Wars_

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.
--Mark Van Doren (1894—1972)
American poet, writer, and teacher.

The mediocre teacher tells,
the good teacher explains,
the superior teacher demonstrates,
the great teacher inspires.
--William Arthur Ward (1921—1994)
American college administrator and author.

-

A professor was giving a big test one day to his students. He handed
out all of the tests and went back to his desk to wait. Once the
test was over the students handed the tests back. The professor
noticed that one of the students had attached a $100 bill to his test
with a note saying "A dollar per point." The next class the professor
handed the tests back out. This student got back his test and $64
change.

-----

afflatus [uh-FLAY-tuhs], noun:
A divine imparting of knowledge; inspiration.

didactic [dy-DAK-tik; duh-], adjective:
1. Fitted or intended to teach; conveying instruction;
instructive; teaching some moral lesson; as, "didactic essays."
2. Inclined to teach or moralize excessively; moralistic.
Ex. While Cooper offers a nice message about the demands of
friendship and the need to share and be flexible, her writing is
not the least bit didactic or dogmatic.
--Stephen Del Vecchio,
review of _Pumpkin Soup_, by Helen Cooper,
"Teacher Magazine," [May 2000]

exegesis [ek-suh-JEE-sis], noun;
plural exegeses -seez:
Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation
of a text.
Ex.: No variety of love is too trivial for exegesis. No aspect
of love is so ridiculous that it hasn't been exhaustively
reviewed by the great thinkers, the great artists, and the
great hosts of daytime talk shows.
--P. J. O'Rourke,
_Eat the Rich_

explicate (transitive verb)
Inflected: explicated, explicating, explicates
To make clear or explain completely.
Syn.: show, explain, get across, expound, illuminate, exhibit
Related: review, construe, analyze, demonstrate, reason,
illustrate, clarify, define, interpret, articulate
Derived: explicator (noun)

heuristic (adj.)
Relating to or using a method of teaching that encourages
learners to discover solutions for themselves.

inculcate [in-KUHL-kayt; IN-kuhl-kayt], transitive verb:
To teach and impress by frequent repetition or instruction.

malleable [MAL-ee-uh-buhl], adjective:
1. Capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a
hammer, or by the pressure of rollers; -- applied to metals.
2. Capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces;
easily influenced.
3. Capable of adjusting to changing circumstances; adaptable.
Ex. 1: The natives proved less malleable and far less innocent
than the Europeans imagined, so much so that early colonial
history is filled with countless stories of monks who met
hideous deaths at the hands of their flocks.
--Juan Gonzalez,
_Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America_
Ex. 2: Those workers aged over 50 were considered too set in
their ways, too expensive to keep on and not malleable enough.
--Jill Sherman Whitehall, "Benefit costs force rethink on
retirement," _Times_ (London), [25 April 2000]

tractable [TRAK-tuh-buhl], adjective:
1. Capable of being easily led, taught, or managed; docile.
2. Easily handled, managed, or worked; malleable.
Ex.: "He thought that our temperaments are at least partly innate:
'Some men by unalterable frame of their constitution are stout,
others timorous, some confident, others modest and tractable.'"
--Jonathan Weiner, _Time, Love, Memory_

tutelage [TOO-tuhl-ij; TYOO-], noun:
1. The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship; protection.
2. The state of being under a guardian or tutor.
3. Instruction, especially individual instruction accompanied by
close attention and guidance.


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