Henry David Thoreau said, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Isn't that what good teachers encourage kids to do in the classroom everyday by the moments they share together?
"There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children — one is roots, the other is wings." — Hodding Carter, Jr.
Isn't that what good teachers and parents strive to do each day?
"Everyone who remembers his own educational experience remembers teachers, not methods and techniques." — Sidney Hook
We remember teachers not for what they taught us, but for how they empowered us in the classroom.
"Teachers teach more by what they are than by what they say." — Anonymous
"Teachers believe they have a gift for giving; it drives them with the same irrepressible drive that drives others to create a work of art or a building." — A. Bartlett Giamatti
"Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task." — Haim G. Ginot
"Teacher: Two kinds: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just give you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies." — Robert Frost
"A good teacher, like a good entertainer first must hold his audience's attention. Then he can teach his lesson." — John Hendrik Clarke
Mr. Clarke is right. When actor Robin Williams played John Keating in the "Dead Poets Society," he stood on his desk to get the attention of his class, I knew exactly how he felt. I had already done that in my class.
"There's nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." — Buckminster Fuller
"Nine-tenths of education is encouragement." — Anatole French
"All kids are gifted. Some just open their packages earlier than others." — Michael Carr
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." — Nelson Mandela
"There is a brilliant child locked inside every student." — Marva Collins
"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it." — Dennis P. Kimbro
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." — Henry B. Adams
"I touch the future. I teach." — Christa McAuliffe
The above quote always gives me goose bumps. Jacquie is my friend; so I am giving you two of her quotes. She and I love quotes. Jacquie has a great website where I discovered some of these shared quotes, at www.theteachersdesk.com. Her book is great, too, a must-read.
"The good teacher has a profession. The master teacher has a PASSION." — Jacquie McTaggart
Yes, I have a passion for teaching, especially the teaching of poetry and the love of words. Was I successful at communicating my passion? I was successful at least with one student, Jay R. Perrin. On the last day of school, he gave me this poem:
Fourth Grade Teacher
My fourth grade teacher
Helped me in many ways
And probably because of him,
In English, I'm moving up a phase.
I owe it to him
Every time I win a contest
Because all of his students and I
Know he is the Best.
He helped me with writing
And different types of poetry,
And he always believed in
The strength I had in me.
When I reach my goal
I will dedicate my success
To this Very Special Friend
Who, in writing, taught me nothing less
To you, he may sound serious
But he's actually quite silly.
And now I allot this poem
To my fourth grade teacher and friend: Mr. Sottile.
After Jay wrote this, he invited me to the local library when he won their poetry contests three years in a row. Then as a senior he invited me to his Eagle Scout ceremony. All Jay needed to be an outstanding student was a little "prod" and the belief that a teacher saw him as a "butterfly."
Your students will write you tributes while you're alive, if you're passionate about poetry. In the process you will help them to live the life they imagined.