30 Inspirational Quotes for Teachers

Being a teacher is one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs in the world, there's no doubt about it. From preschool to high school, every stage of students presents its own challenges. Whether it's managing big feelings, molding young minds, or helping guide teens through major life decisions, teachers are there for support through it all. Unfortunately, they often don't get the recognition or thanks they deserve considering all they do. It's understandable that sometimes teachers need a little pick-me-up!

Check out these 30 quotes for inspiration and let a special teacher how much they're making a difference.

1. "I am not a teacher, but an awakener." - Robert Frost
2. "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin
3. "Teaching is the greatest act of optimism." - Colleen Wilcox
4. "Children must be taught how to think, not what to think." - Margaret Mead
5. "Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead." - Nora Ephron
6. "It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein
7. "The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one."- Malcolm S. Forbes
8. "Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops." - Henry Brooks Adams
9. "Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach." - Aristotle
10. "Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another." - K. Chesterton
11. "In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn." - Phil Collins
12. "One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world." - Malala Yousafzai
13. "Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together." - Scott Hayden
14. "Teachers, you don't teach a subject. You teach a child." - Deepa Bhushan
15. "Good teaching is ¼ preparation and ¾ theater." - Gail Godwin
16. "Each of us had something to learn from the others and something to teach in return." - Saint Augustine
17. "The beautiful thing about learning is that no on can take it away from you." - B. King
18. "Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges." - Joyce Meyer
19. "I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be." - Taylor Mali
20. "When one teaches, two learn." - Robert Heinlein
21. "What sculpture is to a block or marble, education is to a human soul"- Joseph Addison
22. "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X
23. "Every child deserves a champion; an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can possibly be." - Rita Pierson
24. "A good teacher is like a candle. It consumes itself to light the way for others." - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
25. "I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think." - Socrates
26. "Kids don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are." - Jim Henson
27. "Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher." - Japanese Proverb
28. "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." - John Dewey
29. "If kids come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they do not come to us from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important." - Barbara Colorose
30. "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela

Most people can name teachers that changed or inspired us in some way. Consider sharing these quotes with a special teacher in your life to show them how much you appreciate everything they do!

Kelsey Caldwell is a realtor and freelance writer from Charlotte, NC. She and her husband are parents to two amazing kids, a puppy, and rabbit.

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