Great Advice from Great Teachers

The below quotes are from my book, One-on-One With America's Most Inspiring Teachers. The book can be found on Amazon.com. I hope you enjoy the advice of these inspiring teachers. 

MAXIMS OF GREAT TEACHERS

TEACHING

“It’s not because I’m a great teacher, but it’s because I met my students where they were.” Dara Feldman

“I started to look at kids more as individuals as opposed to an entire group that needed the curriculum checked-off as I taught it.” Jennifer Wilson

“Every student knows that I give 100% and I expect the same from them.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“The real measure of a good teacher is what we give students that last them the rest of their lives.” Rafe Esquith

“Everyday is different, every child is different, and the way students learn is different.” Heather Renz

“Teachers are like explorers searching for the unknown, searching for the treasures for which our students are to us.” Glenn Lid

“Keep them laughing, involved, and relate the material to things they already know.” Harriett Ball

“I find that if I rigorously teach my expectations at the very beginning. I can quickly move my students forward to where I want them to be by having them function as a cohesive unit.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Teachers have to get students up doing things; moving around, working in groups and doing a variety of activities.” Randy Wormald

“It is very important for a teacher to realize that the energy you give off is the energy you get back from your students.” Kim Bearden

“Do not be too attached to YOUR information. Be more open to finding out what the students want to learn. You can always tie it to your standards.” Dara Feldman

“At the end of the day I want my kids to be excited about learning and can’t wait to come back the next day.” Jennifer Wilson

“Jamie Escalante said it best: you have to have the ‘ganas’ or desire to teach. I think everything else will come in time if you have the will, the desire, and the passion for your students’ learning.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“My greatest strength is that I just don’t give up.” Rafe Esquith

“I try to make my teaching exo-charmic. ‘exo’ meaning out of the box and ‘charmic’ meaning a certain charm that exudes lots of energy.” Glenn Lid

“Don’t give homework on anything you have not personally taught yourself.” Harriett Ball

“Don’t give up on a child just because of their behavior.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Sometimes teaching is more about getting out of the way and letting the kids come up with the ideas.” Randy Wormald

“When you see enthusiastic students, there is an enthusiastic teacher in the classroom first.” Kim Bearden

“I have noticed that one of the reasons kids act out is because they can’t read and they would rather get in trouble for acting out than face the humiliation of not being able to read.” Dara Feldman

“Effective teachers never stop trying and they never give up.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“EVERY lesson I explain how they will be using this skill in their life. There is relevance in my classroom that is one of the reasons the kids work hard.” Rafe Esquith

“Teachers are explorers of human-kind; our next year’s class, our next athlete, our next student may be our greatest discovery of all.” Glenn Lid

“There is nothing worse than a teacher who doesn’t want to be in the classroom and lacks the will to help children.” Cynthia Pochomis

“I believe in giving the students a voice and bringing in some of their ideas while maintaining a curriculum structure.” Randy Wormald

“I think one of the biggest disservices that we do for children in our country is to lower the expectations for children who are struggling.” Kim Bearden

“I get my students to do some very high level work because I show them exactly what I expect and I do not allow them to underachieve.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“If you read well all the doors are open. If you don’t read well they are all shut. It’s just that simple.” Rafe Esquith

“Teachers need to look at their state standards and ask themselves the question, ‘what’s the best way to deliver this content to students that is going to be motivating, exciting, and most important relevant?’” Heather Renz

“I try to make my hook activities result in a student reaction of ‘wow, how did he do that.” Glenn Lid

“Teachers have to look at children as individuals, meet them where they are, and push them as far as they can go.” Cynthia Pochomis

“As a teacher you have the opportunity everyday to inspire and engage students. If you are not doing that then this career is not for you.” Randy Wormald

“If we treat all students as gifted learners they will rise to the occasion.” Kim Bearden

“Be a proactive teacher not a reactive teacher.” Rafe Esquith

“It must be meaningful. If it is not meaningful why are we teaching it to students? If we cannot connect it to their life it doesn’t mean anything.” Heather Renz

“In a society where we are saying that kids don’t pay attention like they used to, music is the great focuser.” Rafe Esquith

“That’s what I’m looking for in a teaching colleague, a potential for awesomeness.” Randy Wormald

“Students live in real fast-paced world where they are bombarded with information. We need to teach them how to quickly screen right from wrong and propaganda from fact.” Heather Renz

“The more connections that you can help a child make between the content and their reality, the more success you are going to have with the students being able to retain it long term.” Kim Bearden

RELATIONSHIPS

“The single most important thing about having a successful classroom is relationship building. If you don’t have a relationship you can know the content inside and out and it’s not going to matter.” Randy Wormald

“Once you have built a caring relationship with your students, they then care about what you have to teach them.” Harriett Ball

“Starting out the year by developing a relationship with the whole family is something that good teachers do.” Dara Feldman

“Kids judge you on your ability to teach them. If you are not able to teach them, they will not value you. They will not respect you. Your students will however climb mountains if you teach them well and build-up their self-esteem.” Harriett Ball

“Build relationships with teachers that you admire.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“You have to be the person you want your kids to be.” Rafe Esquith

“The biggest thing a new teacher should do is to step back and realize that they child in front of them is the apple of somebody’s eye and the love of their life.” Heather Renz

“It’s important to keep telling your students they are an amazing person and that they have great self-worth.” Heather Renz

“When you stay at one school for a long time, you just feel like you are becoming part of a community of teaching kids.” Glenn Lid

“I was their mother, grandmother, teacher, and friend. I played all the roles as though they were my children and not just poor kids.” Harriett Ball

“I believe the only way to truly teach a child is to work with the whole family.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Equal is not equitable.” Dara Feldman

“Having other teachers that you respect, love, look-up to, and can bounce ideas off of is nice.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“The culture of the school must be such that students understand the entire design is to promote their success. To set them free from all the problems they come to us with.” Glenn Lid

“I try to teach my students to get along in polite society.” Cynthia Pochomis

“It is really important that teachers become the guiding light for students when parents, for whatever reason, are not that guiding light.” Amy Dunaway-Haney

“It’s meaningful to me that I made a difference in the lives of the kids at this school. I couldn’t be a doctor, so this is how I used my life to give back.” Glenn Lid

“You must take the time to know and connect with each child.” Heather Renz

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

“Just because a teacher has a teaching degree, doesn’t mean they are finished learning. On the contrary you are just beginning to learn about this profession.” Dara Feldman

“When I failed in those early years I learned to take a look inward, not to blame the kids, not to blame the parents, or to blame the system.” Rafe Esquith

“The direction of my professional learning comes from my reflection and my questions and worries about my effectiveness as a teacher.” Jennifer Wilson

“You can’t be stagnant in this job. There are just too many variables for which you have to prepare.” Jennifer Wilson

“New teachers need to learn from those teachers who are thought of as the most successful.” Glenn Lid

“There are a lot of teachers who do not have the depth of knowledge to be truly making an impact on some subject areas like mathematics. We must get the real foundational skills built, not just teaching from the book.” Heather Renz

“Sharing with other teachers has always been a significant part of my philosophy.” Cynthia Pochomis

“All teachers should come together, share ideas and best practices so that we can all go back to our classrooms and make a difference.” Kim Bearden

“Never stop learning! If you think you have all the answers it’s time to get out of the profession.” Jennifer Wilson

“We have to have teachers who love to read.” Rafe Esquith

EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND OUR SOCIETY

“I’m all for accountability, but things that can be measured are not necessarily meaningful, and the things that are meaningful cannot necessarily be measured.” Dara Feldman

“There is a growing culture in education that success means passing the test. That opposes everything that I believe in!” Cynthia Pochomis

“We need a valued and honorable path for students with disabilities, a path that is not controlled by the passing of a test.” Cynthia Pochomis

“Just like Finland we need to build a culture and an attitude around the importance of the teaching profession.” Randy Wormald

“We have to support our new teachers. This is the number one thing we have to do in education.” Glenn Lid

“Parents must be the first ones to emphasize the importance of education.” Harriett Ball

“Teachers are training children to take a test instead of teaching children to enjoy learning, reading and to be curious about the world around them.” Cynthia Pochomis

“The better your Fine Arts programs the better you are across the board academically.” Randy Wormald

“You can’t just say we need to do better and get better results. You have to support that idea with more resources.” Heather Renz