At it's highest level, the purpose of teaching is not to teach—it is to inspire the desire for learning. Once a student's mind is set on fire, it will find a way to provide its own fuel.
Interpretation
Teaching should aim to inspire a love of learning rather than just impart information.
This quote emphasizes the transformative power of education. Rather than merely transmitting knowledge, the true essence of teaching lies in igniting a passion for inquiry and understanding within students. When educators inspire students, they evoke a sense of curiosity and motivation that drives individuals to pursue knowledge independently, leading to a deeper and more meaningful educational experience.
In practice
In a motivational speech for teachers, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of inspiring students.
A person is either himself or not himself; is either rooted in his existence or is a fabrication; has either found his humanhood or is still playing with masks and roles and status symbols. And nobody is more aware of this difference (although unconsciously) than a child. Only an authentic person can evoke a good response in the core of the other person; only person is resonant to person.
We evaluate others with a Godlike justice, but we want them to evaluate us with a Godlike compassion.
The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes them a mother - which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.
Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.
"Terrorism" is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it; "war" is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it.
You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a realist he is preparing to do something that he is secretly ashamed of doing.
The duties of a teacher are neither few nor small, but they elevate the mind and give energy to the character.
Children are more influenced by sermons you act than by sermons you preach.
Let ignorance talk as it will, learning has its value.
Teachers have told us across the country that what's severely outdated is the teacher at the front of the classroom as the font of knowledge, because as we know, access to knowledge and information is now ubiquitous. So instead, teachers want to help students learn how to think so that they can be lifelong learners.
Bilingualism lets you have your cake and eat it. The new language opens the doors to the best jobs in society; the old language allows you to keep your sense of 'who you are.' It preserves your identity. With two languages, you have the best of both worlds.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
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