Who Dares to Teach Must Never Cease to Learn

1799. John Cotton Dana (1856-1929). Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989

Below are some of my other favorite quotes about teaching.

The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards; and curiosity itself can be vivid and wholesome only in proportion as the mind is contented and happy. – Anatole France


If you plan for a year, plant a seed. If for ten years, plant a tree. If for a hundred years, teach the people. When you sow a seed once, you will reap a single harvest. When you teach the people, you will reap a hundred harvests. -- Kuan Chung (d. 645 B.C.)


Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without learning is dangerous. -- Chinese Proverb

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books.-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



It is the object of learning, not only to satisfy the curiosity and perfect the spirits of ordinary men, but also to advance civilization. – Woodrow Wilson



Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all.

-- Thomas Szasz (b. 1920), U.S. psychiatrist. “Education,” The Second Sin (1973).


A teacher can but lead you to the door; learning is up to you. – Chinese Proverb


The teacher’s task is not to implant facts but to place the subject to be learned in front of the learner and, through sympathy, emotion, imagination and patience, to awaken in the learner the restless drive for answers and insights which enlarge the personal life and give it meaning. -- Nathan M Pusey, President, Harvard

Teaching is . . . .

Teaching is about transmitting information and best practices through human interaction from one generation to the next.


How do we measure quality teaching? Through principle-based assessment rather than scores-driven regulation.



Self-assessment (what used to be called reflection) is key to improvement.

Resource Based Learning: Definition

RBL: Definition
Canadian Website for Saskatchewan Schools about the integration of teaching and research, with teacher/librarian as resource for the student researcher.

Austin is 21st in high school graduation rates

Austin is 21st in high school graduation rates

Austin has a graduation rate of 58.2%. The surrounding suburbs have a rate of about 71%. The ethnic rate stats at the end of the article are interesting and may be more reliable, since they are nationwide averages. It would be interesting to compare the ethnic make-up of AISD schools compared to those same suburban schools.

The sad fact that these statistics highlight, even though the article is silent -- No child left behind has resulted in children failing out of the public education system. Students who cannot meet the standards are more likely to drop out, and less likely to be encouraged to remain in school. The stakes (withholding of federal funds) are too high for the schools, and the measures too focused on scores (narrowly interpreted), rather than growth in student achievement.