As a new school year begins - words to inspire...

I always enjoy reading quotes (excellent bathroom reading), particularly those that challenge and provoke (kind of like teaching!). I also admire the brilliance of those who can speak volumes in the fewest possible number of words.

Here are a few I found with my own interpretations as well as a couple that have been guiding principles in my career. Some are loosely paraphrased from memory, so if you know the original, please share...

Let's start with some humor, although you may not find it so.

(Bumper sticker) If you can read this, thank a teacher.
My addition : Never follow too closely. (there's a double meaning there!)

(Seen on a T Shirt): 3/4 of all students don't understand fractions; the other half don't like them.
(This is not the original which I can't quite recall - but the message is the same)

Now onto more serious thoughts...

An understanding heart is everything in a teacher....One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. 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 Jung]
My thoughts: What did a wise teacher once say to me -- Dave, just remember, you don't teach math, you teach children.

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.
My thoughts: I almost want to make another joke about fractions but this truism should stand alone. I never thought of myself as a great performer but in reality I gave 5x5x40x35 performances, some of which were definitely better than others! Ever notice how some former teachers become stand up comics...

Those who are incapable of teaching young minds to reason, pretend that it is impossible. The truth is, they are fonder of making their pupils talk well than think well and much the greater number are better qualified to give praise to a ready memory than a sound judgment.
[Oliver Goldsmith]
My thoughts: This should provoke some strong feelings. I've asked many teachers why they don't ask more probing questions in a lesson. I often get the following type of reaction, "I tried, but I wind up having to answer the questions myself, so what's the point." Perhaps, it's enough to ask the questions... the next quote says it better...

To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching. [Henry Adams]

When the National Science Foundation asked the "breakthrough" scientists what they felt was the most favorable factor in their education, the answer was almost uniformly, "intimate association with a great, inspiring teacher." [R. Buckminster Fuller]
My thoughts: None needed

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
My thoughts: I guess I was mediocre, good and superior in my career. I'll leave it to others to judge how great I was.

More important than the curriculum is the question of the methods of teaching and the spirit in which the teaching is given. [Bertrand Russell]
My thoughts: I believe they work hand in hand. It would be hypocritical of me to downplay the importance of what is being taught.

And last but not least, the oft-quoted but still the most meaningful for me...

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. [Henry Adams]

I was hoping not to get melancholy about not starting a new school year with the rest of you but these quotes are having an effect on me. Have a wonderful year as you touch another group of lives. Please share your favorite quotes here with all of us.