In this modern era of shorter attention spans and mandatory multitasking, the teachers of today must discover new methods to excite and engage students. To have the ability to transfer an iota of respect for the content area, whether it be English Language Arts or Mathematics, and to inspire learning, an educator can turn to the words and an education quote or two from great poets, authors, and educational philosophers for encouragement and inspiration. Case in point is the education quote from poet, William Butler Yeats, which reads: Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. The teachers of today wish to ignite that fire in their future students, and that can only be accomplished by providing a safe environment for them to examine and freely express their ideas. An education quote can invigorate such things.
Philosopher, educational reformer, and psychologist, John Dewey, was one of the forefathers of providing brilliant theories and pithy quotes about education. Dewey believed that the goal of education could not be achieved without making the educational environment a place for social interaction and student engagement and self discovery. Dewey believed, to his core, that education should not be a predetermined prescription, but rather something that helps students discover their whole identity and purpose in life. Perhaps you have heard his education quote: education is not preparation for life; it is life itself. You may not have known the author of this education quote, and Dewey provided other theories and words of wisdom. Another education quote from Dewey that ties into a life well lived: To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.
In addition to how to teach students, many quotes on education focus on character development (an often overlooked idea in the assessment and standards hungry society we live in). As such, the Dalai Lama once quipped the following education quote: When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts. Educational quotes are rooted in more tongue in cheek witticisms, too. American writer, Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, once provided the following wry education quote: Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned. Another education quote that connects to what some consider the irrelevance of education comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet and author): We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing.