Thoughts for teachers

     A few days ago, I wrote about school starting again.  Some little ones have already returned while others are still practicing getting to bed early in order to answer that alarm clock which will soon seem to be going off in the middle of the night.

     I actually loved those days as an educator. However, I no longer have the energy to even get up let alone follow the day on a dead run. Teaching is like jumping on a treadmill in August and not getting off until late May or early June. Did I mention the treadmill is on full speed ahead.  If you have never taught, you might discredit this comparison. If you have taught or are teaching this year, I salute you. There is no better profession than making a difference in the lives of young people.

     I have a little calendar of thoughts for teachers.  Here are a few:


     A teacher affects eternity; no one can tell where his influence stops.  Henry Adams

     Every person is gifted in some area.  We just have to find out what. Evelyn Blose Holman

     The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. Mark Twain

     Fairness is not sameness.

    A good grade on the big exam is the result of a lot of work on the little assignments.

     Help your students find one thing they do extremely well.

     One of a student's biggest fears is not being listened to.

     What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.  Karl Menninger

     The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. Robert Maynard Hutchins

     Nothing helps a student more than knowing someone has faith in him.

     And my favorite...

     They won't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

    The credit for the collection of these thoughts comes from a calendar compiled by Mary Kay Shanley called Apple Seeds.