Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. It is a way to help shape the minds of the next generation and help them grow into successful adults. As teachers, we know that the work we do every day makes a real impact on the lives of our students and is one of the most rewarding careers out there. That’s why we love teaching. And it’s why we’re inspired by these 49 quotes about teaching from some of the world’s most famous educators, writers, and thinkers.
49 quotes about teaching that will inspire and motivate teachers everywhere
There isn’t one answer to the question of what makes a great teacher. However, there are some things that all great teachers have in common. Here are some quotes about teaching that will serve as inspirational quotes for teachers everywhere:
- “Teaching is the highest form of understanding.” – Aristotle.
- “Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.” – Paulo Coelho.
- “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso.
- “Education is not the filling of a pot but the lighting of a fire.” – W.B. Yeats.
- “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” – Albert Einstein.
- “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry Adams.
- “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” – Aristotle.
- “Teachers teach someone something, in that order.” – Samuel Natale.
- “I cannot be a teacher without exposing who I am.” – Paulo Freire.
- “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” – Socrates.
- “The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.” – Amos Bronson Alcott.
- “When one teaches, two learn.” – Robert Heinlein.
- “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, “The children are now working as if I did not exist.” – Maria Montessori.
- “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else.” – Lee Lacocca.
- “I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” – Robert Frost.
- “Proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you have always known.” – Frank Herbert.
- “There is no failure. Only feedback.” – Robert Allen.
- “You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.” – Aristophanes.
- “Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions.” – Unknown.
- “A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” – Horace Mann.
- “Good teaching is 1/4 preparation and 3/4 theatre.” – Gail Goldwin.
- “The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves.” –Joseph Campbell.
- “To know how to suggest is the art of teaching.” – Henri-Frédéric Amiel.
- “We never know which lives we influence, or when or why.” – Stephen King.
- “Don’t just teach your children to read…Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything.” – George Carlin.
- “Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.” – Scott Hayden.
- “You can teach a person all you know, but only experience will convince him that what you say is true.” – Richelle E. Goodrich.
- Ask “How will they learn best?” not “Can they learn?” – Jaime Escalante.
- “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.” – Jacques Barzun.
- “It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.” – Unknown.
- “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.” – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
- “All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life.” – Ming-Dao Deng.
- “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Theodore Roosevelt.
- “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein.
- “The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” – Alexandra K. Trenfor.
- “A good teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” – Thomas Carruthers.
- “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward.
- “The way you teach can define how many you reach.” – James Prior.
- “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats.
- “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.”– Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Estrada.
- “Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” – John Steinbeck.
- “Nine-tenths of education is encouragement.” – Anatole France.
- “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” – C.S. Lewis.
- Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin.
- “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.” – Helen Keller.
- “Your heart is slightly larger than the average human heart, but that’s because you’re a teacher.” – Aaron Bacall.
- “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.” – Guy Kawasaki.
- “Teach the children so it won’t be necessary to teach the adults.” – Abraham Lincoln.
We hope that these 49 quotes about teaching have left you inspired and ready to change the lives of more of your students. A passionate teacher who possesses good teaching qualities can truly make a world of difference.
Do you have any of your own teacher quotes that you like? Let us know in the comments if you have any other quotes about teaching which have resonated with you in past!
The founder of DoTEFL, James is passionate about helping others fulfill their dreams through teaching and traveling abroad.
James has been helping people teach English abroad for over twelve years. He’s traveled to over 30 countries, lived in 3, and taught English in Chile and online.
James has been helping people teach English abroad for over twelve years. He’s traveled to over 30 countries, lived in 3, and taught English in Chile and online.
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