[etni] Teachers Change Lives by Richard Lederer
- From: "assaf" <segalil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 14:00:29 +0200
**** ETNI on the web http://www.etni.org.il http://www.etni.org ****
Here is a lovely antidote for any teachers who may be experiencing some of that
end-of- the- summer-holiday blues. I hope everyone will find some inspiration
and encouragement from the following:
Teachers Change Lives
September 7, 2000
One of my favorite newspaper corrections reads: "It was incorrectly reported
last Friday that today is T-shirt Appreciation Day. In fact, it is actually
Teacher Appreciation Day." Every day should be devoted Teacher Appreciation and
made a time to recognize members of the most unheralded, labor-intensive,
multi-tasking, exhausting, lowest paying, and rewarding of all professions.
Having been an Inmate in the House of Correction (a.k.a. an English teacher)
for 28 years, I'm biased of course. To George Bernard Shaw's mean sneer: "He
who can, does. He who cannot, teaches" I would oppose Lee Iacocca's "In a truly
rational world, the best of us would be teachers, and the rest of us would do
something else." I truly believe that teachers deserve the nice things people
say about them:
a.. And gladly would he learn and gladly teach. -- Geoffrey Chaucer
b.. No bubble is so iridescent or floats longer that one blown by a beloved
teacher. -- Sir William Osler
c.. Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition. --
Jacques Barzun
d.. He who opens a school door closes a prison. -- Victor Hugo
e.. To teach is to learn again. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes
f.. The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior
teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. -- William Arthur Ward
g.. Teachers, who educate children, deserve more honor than parents, who
merely gave them birth; for the latter provided mere life, while the former
ensure a good life. -- Aristotle
h.. My joy in learning is partly that it enables me to teach. -- Seneca
i.. Summer vacation: When parents suddenly realize that teachers are grossly
underpaid. -- Herm Albright
j.. A teacher affects eternity. No one can tell where his influence stops. --
Henry Adams
k.. To me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching. -- George
Bernard Shaw (Yes, the same GBS)
Some of my favorite stories about teachers are positively heavenly:
St. Peter hears a knocking at the Gates of Heaven and calls out, "Who's there?"
"It is I," a voice responds.
"Oh no, not another English teacher," sighs St. Peter.
St. Peter welcomes the teacher into heaven and says he will show her to where
she will spend eternity.
The first neighborhood is lovely. People stroll park lawns, socialize, and play
golf on a beautiful course. Everyone is having a great time. The teacher asks
if this is where she will live, but St. Peter says it's just for doctors. The
teacher rolls her eyes and sighs.
They walk on, and the teacher sees another neighborhood that is just as
beautiful -- exquisite mansions, gorgeous grounds and lavish facilities. Again
she inquires if this is where she will live, but St. Peter says it's for
lawyers.
On through the clouds they walk and soon come to a third neighborhood. It too
is lovely, with shining mansions, parks, pools and the like. St. Peter tells
the teacher this will be her new home in Heaven. The teacher is thrilled, but
she notices that no one is around, and all the mansions seem to be empty. She
asks St. Peter where everyone is. Didn't many teachers make it to Heaven?
St. Peter announces that yes, there are lots of teachers in Heaven, and they
won't return until the next day. They are all in Hell attending an in-service
training session.
My favorite of all teacher stories concerns one of the best-selling writers of
the 20th century:
James Michener, author of Hawaii and The Source, declined a dinner invitation
at the White House during the Eisenhower administration, but his explanatory
letter to the president made full amends. "Dear Mr. President," wrote Michener,
"I received your invitation three days after I had agreed to speak a few words
at a dinner honoring the wonderful high school teacher who taught me how to
write. I know you will not miss me at your dinner, but she might at hers."
Commented the understanding Ike, "In his lifetime a man lives under 15 or 16
presidents, but a really fine teacher comes into his life but rarely."
Blessed be the teachers. Amalgams of scholars, mentors, counselors, coaches,
traffic controls, and baby-sitters, they march in the company of secular
saints. May their tribe thrive and multiply.
© Richard Lederer
##### To send a message to the ETNI list email: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx #####
##### Send queries and questions to: ask@xxxxxxxx #####
Other related posts:
- » [etni] Teachers Change Lives by Richard Lederer
