Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Theodore Roosevelt
Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. Anonymous
Don't ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun--and neither can stop the march of events. Robert A. Heinlein
Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. Anonymous
Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain -- and most fools do. Dale Carnegie
Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so. Lord Chesterfield
Big egos are big shields for lots of empty space. Diana Black
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused. Anonymous
Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners. Anonymous
A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her. David Brinkley
A teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops. Henry B. Adams
A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can. Montaigne
A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day. Emily Dickenson
Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh. W.H. Auden
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud. Ralph Waldo Emerson
A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something. William Mizner
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Will Durant
Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to? Clarence Darrow
Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards. Anonymous
Force is a tool of the weak. Gentleness is reserved for the strong. Unknown
If anyone should ask me to give a reason why I loved my friend, there could only be one answer; because he was he; because I was I. Montaigne
| On Friendship (excerpt) | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| Teacher | Dr. Haim Ginott |
| The Animal School (excerpt) | Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D |
| Brain Dance | Reader's Digest, October, 1991 |
| Why is English so Hard? | Unknown |
| The Master Teacher | Unknown |
| Reaching Students | Moncton Times-Transcript, November 1991 |
| Famous Quotes | Alphabetical Listing of Quotes |
| Quotingman's Quotes | An Alphabetical Listing |
| DuPontian Paradise | Quotes |
"I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the class room. 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 a 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 humanized or dehumanized."
-New Scientist/WPN, England Reader's DigestI always tell the story of the animal school, a fabulous story that educators have had around for years. We laugh about it but we never do anything about it. A rabbit, bird, fish, squirrel, duck, and so on, all decided to start a school. Everybody sat down to write a curriculum. The rabbit insisted that running be in the curriculum. The fish insisted that swimming be in the curriculum. The squirrel insisted perpendicular tree climbing be in the curriculum. All the other animals wanted their specialty to be in the curriculum too, so they put everything in and then made the glorious mistake of insisting that all the animals take all of the courses. The rabbit was magnificent in running; nobody could run like the rabbit. But they insisted that it was good intellectual and emotional discipline to teach the rabbit flying. So they insisted that the rabbit learn to fly and they put him on this branch and said "Fly, rabbit!" And the poor old thing jumped off, broke a leg and fractured his skull. He became brain damaged and then he couldn't run very well either. So instead of an A on running, he got a C in running. And he got a D in flying because he was trying. And the curriculum committee was happy. The same way with the bird- he could fly like a freak all over the place, do loops and loops, and he was making an A. But they insisted that this bird burrow holes in the ground like a gopher. Of course he broke his wings and his beak and everything else and then he couldn't fly. But they were perfectly happy to give him a C in flying, and so on. And you know who the Valedictorian of the graduating class was? A mentally retarded eel, because he could do almost everything fairly well.
Brain Dance
REPLYING to an invitation to a Scientist's Ball:
-Pierre and Marie Curie were radiating enthusiasm
-Einstein thought it would be relatively easy to attend
-Volta was electrified, and Archimedes was buoyant at the thought
-Wilbur Wright accepted - provided he and his brother, Orville, could get a flight
-Ampère was worried he wasn't up to current research
-Ohm resisted the idea at first
-Boyle said he was under too much pressure
-Edison thought it would be an illuminating experience
-Dr. Jekyll declined, on the grounds that he hadn't been
feeling himself lately
-Watt reckoned it would be a good way to let off steam
-Stephenson thought the whole idea was loco
-Morse's reply? "I'll be there on the dot. Can't stop
now - must dash."
The Master Teacher
And Jesus took his disciples up to the mountain and gathered them around him. He taught them saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;
Blessed are the meek;
Blessed are they that mourn;
Blessed are the merciful;
Blessed are they who thirst for justice;
Blessed are you when persecuted;
Blessed are you when you suffer;
Then Simon Peter said to Jesus:
"Do we HAVE to write this down, I don't have a pencil. Can I borrow a pencil?"And Andrew said:
"Are we supposed to KNOW this?"And James said:
"Will we have a test on this? How much will it be worth?"And then Philip said:
"I don't have any paper."And Bartholemew said:
"Do we have to pass this in?"And John said:
"The other disciples didn't have to learn this."Then Matthew said:
"I have to go to the bathroom."And Judas said:
"What does this have to do with REAL life?"Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus' lesson plan and inquired of him: "Where is your anticipitory set and your objectives in the cognitive domain? Do you have a mission statement?"
AND JESUS WEPT !!!!!!! (Unknown)
Reaching Students
(From Moncton Times-Transcript November 1991)
About 95 per cent of what is taught in schools will be forgotten by the students, but "100 per cent of who you are will be remembered," District 15 teachers learned this week during an in-training workshop.
Sandy Queen, the founder and director of a training and consulting firm in Columbia, Maryland, called Lifeworks Inc., began her address to local educators by saying "one of the best ways to reach your kids is to be a child-like person."
As an illustration, she told the tale of Eddie, a troubled student.
Eddie was a seemingly bright child, described as being energetic and enthusiastic while in kindergarten. Eddie excelled in Grades 1, 2 and 3, but started to fall behind in Grade 4.
His mother had died and his father didn't seem to care much about the children. Grade 5 teacher Mrs. Thompson never seemed to mind giving him F's on his papers or telling him he was destined to fail. She never considered Eddie's problem to be her problem as well.
On the last day of school before Christmas break each of Thompson's students brought her a small gift, Eddie's wrapped in brown paper and sealed with masking tape.
When she opened the present, Thompson discovered a half bottle of perfume and a rhinestone bracelet with part of the setting missing. Of course, like all elementary teachers will do, she proudly wore both items the rest of the day.
At the end of the school day Eddie stayed after class and told his teacher that "that was Mom's favourite bracelet and you smell just like her."
Thompson returned to school in January wanting to make a difference in the "Eddies of the world."
She tutored the young man the remainder of the year and gave him a feeling of worth, increasing his self-esteem 10-fold. By the time June rolled around Eddie was showing significant signs of improvement.
Thompson never saw him again for several years as his father moved out of state, taking the children with him.
Seven years later Thompson received a letter from Eddie stating that he had graduated from high school second in his class and that she was his best friend. Four years after that a letter informed her that he was graduating from university, was named valedictorian of his class and he intended to enter medical school. She was still his best friend.
Several years after that correspondence another letter arrived. This one informed her he was now a doctor and that he was getting married. Eddie wanted Thompson to "sit where my mother and father would sit because they're both dead and you're all I've got," Queen continued on with her account.
In 1954 Edward L. Tatum won the Nobel Prize for bio-chemistry.
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