"FOR TEACHERS & EDUCATORS"
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"Seek for understanding & you will seek no more."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Nohealani M., Age 15 --- Hawaii

"It is not whether you failed or succeeded this time that matters. It's the fact that you chose to try this time, that gives you the right to try it again, knowing now how not to fail the next time."
Copyright © 2001 Mike Claggett

"One cannot go back and make a brand new beginning; but they can start at this point, and create a brand new ending."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Kait R., Age 17 --- Ontario, Canada

"A master can tell you what he expects of you.
A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations."
Patricia Neal --- Submitted by Chetan Chopra --- Washington

"Believe in children, there is faith in their eyes, love in their touch, kindness in their gestures. Thrill with them at life's big and small moments, hold them close."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Nacole Powers --- Oregon

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Ryan --- Florida

"Worrying about your past won't help your future."
Copyright © 2001 Ariana Sykes

"Not everyone who fails should be considered a failure. At some point in our lives we all fail in some way. Afailure is one who spends more time looking for explanations or excuses for failing than means to succeed."
Copyright © 2001 Billy Sizemore

"Hard work, dedication and desire don't guarantee you a thing,
But without them you don't stand a chance."
Pat Riley --- Submitted by K.S., Age 18 --- Illinois

"I'm learning.... Only you can make yourself fail and only you can allow yourself to succeed."
Jay Bane --- Submitted by Nicole F., Age 15 --- Pennsylvania

"Understanding success, means first understanding failure;
For without failure, there is no possibility of success."
Copyright © 2001 Brandon Weekes

There was once a small child. Her name was Alex. One day she was sitting in school and her teacher told the class they had to write a report on what they thought the meaning of life was to them. Well soon after all the moans and groans the bell rang and school was dismissed for the weekend.

Finally Monday came; it was back to school for Alex. That morning the children had to read their essays about the meaning of life to the class. Almost all the students had read theirs and then when the teacher called Alex to the front of the class.

She had no paper in her hand but yet her head was held up high. The teacher asked Alex, "Where is your paper?", and with all the pride little Alex had she said, "I didn't write a paper".

Then Alex went on to say what she thought was the meaning of life. She said that the meaning of life had nothing to do with how long a paper had to be or what kind of grade you get for that paper. She said that God put us all on earth for a reason and if you spend your weekend writing a paper, then you may never know what that reason is. So she spent her weekend looking for that reason.
Written by Ashley R., Age 12 --- Virginia

"Education breeds confidence.
Confidence breeds hope.
Hope breeds peace."
Confucius --- Submitted by Heidi L., Age 17 --- California

"The greatest mistake you can make in life
Is to be continually fearing you will make one."
Elbert Hubbard --- Submitted by Luanne C. --- Arizona

"If a task is once begun, never leave it till it's done.
Be the project great or small, do it well or not at all."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by S.F., Age 18 --- Alberta, Canada

"If a child thinks that they have no strengths or special abilities compared to everyone else, then it is the faultof the parent. It is the parent's responsibility to find out what the child's strengths are and help that childdevelop them. Every child has strengths. Find them and promote them."
Copyright © 2001 Owen Redmond

"Great things are worth working for!"
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Aaron R., Age 12 --- Florida

"Once you succeed, you will not settle for failure."
O. Dellanno
I am a teacher, and I am always trying to come up with quotes to motivate my students. I teach sixth grade students, and I am often told, "How Brave!" I enjoy working with this age group. These students come from a diverse socioeconomic status. I have found that the trick to working with this age students is to set high expectations and address them as individuals. Show a lot of respect for each student and expect respect in return.

"Knowledge is not fully appreciated via education,
But rather through the love of learning."
Copyright © 2001 Julian Don

And Then She Smiled (For Ms. Legg)

I didn't know who she was--had never heard of her. But, then again, "all God's angels come to us disguised," as James Lowell put it. High school hadn't started out well for me--by the end of my first day of 9th grade I was already praying for it to be over.

As I walked to my last class, I found myself in a daze and had made up my mind that I was going to hate high school. But then I walked through the door, and a sudden calmness swept over me. I looked at the young blonde woman standing before me, and then she smiled. For the next ninety minutes, I sat in my seat mesmerized by her ability to hold my attention and make me laugh at the drop of a hat--I never wanted to leave. Of course the bell eventually rang, and I practically ran down the hall to get to my car.

The very first thing I told my mom was that I already knew one teacher I was going to love--it was the young woman. In little over ninety minutes she had become my favorite teacher and had completely won me over. Every day, from then on, I woke up with a smile on my face simply because I knew I was going to end the day with her.

The funny thing is, though, I never spoke a word to her in 9th grade except to answer the occasional questions she threw at me. She just seemed to be my complete opposite and I didn't know how to approach her. At the end of that year I wrote her a letter and plopped it on her desk the last day of school. In it, I had said everything I couldn't bring myself to tell her face-to-face, that she had changed my life and was my absolute favorite.

The next year I had her for World Geography and, yet again, she was the last teacher I was scheduled to see the first day of school. I was excited, but nervous because I didn't know how she had reacted to my letter.

As I walked to her class I became very uptight, but, once again, I walked through her door, and that calmness swept over me just as it had before. She was the same lady I had met a year ago--hadn't changed at all--I still found myself mesmerized by everything about her. But this time, I didn't run to my car when the bell rang. I had to stay after that day, so I decided I would confront her about my letter.

To my utter amazement, she hugged me and told me it had made her cry, and, as they say, the rest is history. I came after school almost every other day to talk to her, and over the course of the year we became very close. Unfortunately, that was her last year; she walked away in hopes of finding a job closer to home.

As fate would have it, she ended up in a middle school just as far away, and I ended up in my 11th grade year alone and lost. But she and I stayed in touch through e-mails, and we pulled each other through this past year.I got out of school a week before her, so we made a plan for me to visit her one day since we hadn't even seen each once after she left. When I walked into her room, a familiar calmness flowed through me, and I realized how much I had missed her. I sat at her desk and watched her stand in front of those 7th graders, and I wished more than anything that I could be one of them, that I could be her student again.

She introduced me to all her classes as a former student of hers--one of her best--and told them how talented I was and about different awards I had won and on and on. But her praise didn't mean half as much to me as what happened when she was through talking: she turned to me with a sparkle in her eye....and then she smiled....and for a brief moment I saw the young blonde woman standing before me again.
Copyright © 2001 Rhae Lindsey

"A face without freckles is like a sky without stars."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Shelly Osthus --- South Dakota

"Don't tell that the problem is difficult.
If it is not difficult, then it might not be a problem."
Author Unknown --- Submitted by Moiz K., Age 17 --- Andhra Pradesh, India

"Principles of Athletic Training" was a class I took so I wouldn't have to take PE, and I would get to have off-campus lunch my junior year. I had no idea that the teacher of this class would become my biggest inspiration.

The class was held at my high school's rival high school. It was a class in which kids from all of the high schools in the district got to take a class together.

My teacher, Lisa, brought us together. She took a group of students not wanting to have anything to do with one another, to being the best of friends. The year started out with the students from high schools other than CW (Where the class was held) calling her "Ms. Marchese." The CW students called her "Lisa" because they were used to calling her by her first name because she was also the athletic trainer at the school at the time.

Eventually everyone called her "Lisa" which I had a problem with at first. I thought I would be showing a lack of respect by addressing her by her first name, putting myself on the same level as her. I quickly learned though that she didn't think she was above any of her students, she was just like them, with a little bit more life experience. To some, getting a teacher to attend a student's sporting event is a great task. Lisa went so far above and beyond this, it is hard to express.

We, as a class, would go to lunch together. Even when her husband came to class one day to take her to lunch, they both went to lunch with us. When some classmates and I would go run on the weekends, sometimes we would run through her neighborhood and stop by to say "Hi." She would always invite us in to get something to drink or just chat.

Lisa would even go rollerblading with us. She related to all of the students on such a personal level. Every time we would share with her something about our life, she would share something about hers. So rarely do I see a teacher open up to her students like this. It was almost surreal. The class was so fun too. Gone were the tons of book work implemented by other teachers. They were replaced with hands-on learning.

When we were learning how to splint injuries (Broken bones, etc.), we played a game we dubbed "Rescue 911." In the middle of the high school quad, we had people pretend they were severely injured. We had to splint the mock injury, notify emergency services, and transport the injured person if needed.

I learned so many things in that class that help me in life everyday. I cannot thank her enough. Lisa has been a counselor, friend, teacher, athletic trainer, you name it, she's done it. For all of this, we threw her a pool party at the end of the year at my house. Our class presented her with a poem expressing our thanks, and recalling memorable moments from the year. She read the whole thing out loud and cried the whole way through it.

We ended it with some words from a favorite song by Vitamin C: "This isn't good-bye...this is just our time to fly." I would like to tell her thank you for giving me the wings to take off on this flight toward my next destination in life. Lisa was the greatest teacher I have ever had, and made my junior year the greatest year of my life.
Written by Shana S., Age 17 --- California

"FOR TEACHERS & EDUCATORS"
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Teachers Quotes 2001

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