Whether you want to thank your favorite teacher or inspire a loved one to pursue a career in education, these teacher quotes are for you!
At some point in our lives, we all meet a teacher. Teachers aren’t just the uniformed personnel in school; your mother, relatives, and even life serve as teachers—passing on wisdom to you as you age.
Teachers vary in quality; some are excellent while others are not. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve our utmost respect.
Check out these insightful teacher quotes that will make you appreciate the teachers in your life.
Begin here.
And make sure to read these knowledge quotes.
Best Teacher Quotes
1. “The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.” – Anonymous
2. “The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” – Alexandra K. Trenfor
3. “Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges.” – Joyce Meyer
4. “A teacher nourishes the soul of a child for a lifetime.” – Anonymous
5. “A truly amazing teacher is hard to find, difficult to part with, and impossible to forget.” – Anonymous
6. “Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” – Bob Talbert
7. “I cannot be a teacher without exposing who I am.” – Paulo Freire
8. “The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence.” – Amos Bronson Alcott
9. “No one should teach who is not in love with teaching.” – Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
10. “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” – Ignacio Estrada
11. “Good teachers are the ones who can challenge young minds without losing their own.” – Anonymous
12. “Teaching is a calling too. And I’ve always thought that teachers in their way are holy—angels leading their flocks out of the darkness.” – Jeannette Walls
13. “Your heart is slightly larger than the average human heart, but that’s because you’re a teacher.” – Aaron Bacall
14. “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.” – Karl Menninger
Famous Teacher Quotes
15. “Your worst enemy is your best teacher.” – Buddha
16. “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” – Socrates
17. “Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.” – Scott Hayden
18. “I touch the future. I teach.” – Christa McAuliffe
19. “Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” – John C. Dana
20. “To this end, the greatest asset of a school is the personality of the teacher.” – John Strachan
21. “A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.” – Anonymous
22. “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” – Aristotle
23. “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else.” – Lee Iacocca
24. “A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.” – Ever Garrison
25. “A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” – Horace Mann
26. “I am a teacher born and bred, and I believe in the advocacy of teachers. It’s a calling. We want our students to feel impassioned and empowered.” – Erin Gruwell
27. “When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” – Dalai Lama
28. “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
29. “Teaching is not just a job. It is a human service, and it must be thought of as a mission.” – Dr. Ralph Tyler
Also read: Famous Quotes
Inspirational Teacher Quotes
30. “It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.” – Michael Morpurgo
31. “A good teacher is like a candle—it consumes itself to light the way for others.” – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
32. “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams
33. “Teachers believe they have a gift for giving; it drives them with the same irrepressible drive that drives others to create a work of art or a market or a building.” – A. Bartlett Giamatti
34. “A truly special teacher is very wise and sees tomorrow in every child’s eyes.” – Anonymous
35. “When we strive to become better teachers than we are, everyone in our classroom becomes better too.” – Robert John Meehan
36. “A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank. But the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child.” – Forest Witcraft
37. “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.” – Andy Rooney
38. “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.” – Maria Montessori
Also read: Inspirational Quotes
Quotes About Great Teachers and How They Can Change the World
39. “That is the difference between good teachers and great teachers: good teachers make the best of a pupil’s means; great teachers foresee a pupil’s ends.” – Maria Callas
40. “It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.” – Anonymous
41. “I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.” – Lily Tomlin
42. “Great teachers empathize with kids, respect them, and believe that each one has something special that can be built upon.” – Ann Liberman
43. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward
44. “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” – Japanese Proverb
45. “The best teachers are the ones that change their minds.” – Terry Heick
46. “Great teachers are passionate about what they teach and respectful of those they teach.” – Michael Josephson
47. “The best teacher of children, in brief, is one who is essentially childlike.” – H. L. Mencken
48. “The great teacher is not the man who supplies the most facts, but the one in whose presence we become different people.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Deep Teacher Quotes on Improving the Lives of Others
49. “A gifted teacher is not only prepared to meet the needs of today’s child but is also prepared to foresee the hopes and dreams in every child’s future.” – Robert John Meehan
50. “Don’t judge a teacher until you’ve walked a mile in her shoes.” – Anonymous
51. “Teachers who love teaching teach children who love learning.” – Anonymous
52. “He who opens a school door closes a prison.” – Victor Hugo
53. “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John C. Maxwell
54. “Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students.” – Solomon Ortiz
55. “What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased.” – Anonymous
56. “The secret in education lies in respecting the student.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
57. “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” – John Dewy
58. “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth.’” – Dan Rather
Interesting Quotes on the Marks of a Good Teacher
59. “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” – Brad Henry
60. “The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer.” – Alice Wellington Rollins
61. “One good teacher in a lifetime may sometimes change a delinquent into a solid citizen.” – Philip Wylie
62. “The fact that you worry about being a good teacher means that you already are one.” – Jodi Picoult
63. “The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves.” – Joseph Campbell
64. “The teacher’s task is to initiate the learning process and then get out of the way.” – John Warren
65. “Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students.” – Charles Kuralt
66. “What all good teachers have in common, however, is that they set high standards for their students and do not settle for anything less.” – Marva Collins
67. “A good teacher, like a good entertainer, first must hold his audience’s attention, then he can teach his lesson.” – John Henrik Clarke
68. “A great teacher can teach Calculus with a paper clip and literature in an empty field. Technology is just another tool, not a destination.” – Anonymous
69. “Don’t try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.” – Marva Collins
Powerful Quotes About Teaching
70. “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” – Mark Van Doren
71. “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.” – Colleen Wilcox
72. “Teaching is the highest form of understanding.” – Aristotle
73. “Teachers, you don’t teach a subject, you teach a child.” – Deepa Bhushan
74. “Teach the way you’d want to be taught.” – Anonymous
75. “Good teaching must be slow enough so that it is not confusing, and fast enough so that it is not boring.” – Sydney J. Harris
76. “Teaching is an instinctual art, mindful of potential, craving of realization, a pausing, seamless process.” – A. Bartlett Giamatti
77. “Good teaching is 1/4 preparation and 3/4 theatre.” – Gail Goldwin
78. “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.” – Jacques Barzun
79. “Teachers teach someone something, in that order.” – Samuel Natale
80. “Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions.” – Anonymous
81. “Proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you have always known.” – Frank Herbert
82. “A teacher’s job is to take a bunch of live wires and see that they are well-grounded.” – Darwin D. Martin
83. “Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty.” – Albert Einstein
84. “Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” – John Steinbeck
Positive Teacher Quotes That Will Make You Proud
85. “I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” – Robert Frost
86. “The duties of a teacher are neither few nor small, but they elevate the mind and give energy to the character.” – Dorothea Dix
87. “A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” – Thomas Carruthers
88. “What greater or better gift can we offer the republic than to teach and instruct our youth?” – Marcus T. Cicero
89. “Teachers teach because they care. Teaching young people is what they do best. It requires long hours, patience, and care.” – Horace Man
90. “Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system.” – Sidney Hook
91. “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids to work together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” – Bill Gates
92. “Teachers are people who start things they never see finished, and for which they never get thanks until it is too late.” – Max Leon Forman
Also read: Positive Quotes
Quotes to Express Your Appreciation to Your Teacher
93. “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.” – Guy Kawasaki
94. “Not all superheroes wear capes, some have teaching degrees.” – Anonymous
95. “Teachers, who educate children, deserve more honor than parents, who merely gave them birth; for the latter provided mere life, while the former ensured a good life.” – Aristotle
96. “Teachers appreciate being appreciated, for teacher appreciation is their highest award.” – William Prince
97. “Educators are the only people who lose sleep over other people’s kids.” – Nicholas A. Ferroni
98. “Teacher appreciation makes the world of education go around.” – Helen Peters
99. “Cheers to all of the teachers who give out pencils every single day who know that they’ll never get them back.” – Anonymous
100. “I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.” – John Wooden
101. “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of the individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honor for me.” – APJ Abdul Kalam
102. “Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.” – Helen Caldicott
103. “One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.” – Carl Jung
Motivational Quotes From Teachers to Their Students
104. “Dear, my true success will be seeing you in a better position. Wishing you will be a successful person in life, that will be the best gift for me. So work hard and achieve your success.” – Anonymous
105. “I am proud that I have got the chance to teach you. You all are very brave and active. Always keep this spirit up. I wish you all the very best.” – Anonymous
106. “You are the person who can change the world. You have a big responsibility to make the world better. I know you can do this very well. All the best my dear student.” – Anonymous
107. “Dear student, always believe in yourself. You have the ability to do any kind of work whatever it is easy or tough. So be confident and work hard to get your dream.” – Anonymous
108. “What greater joy can a teacher feel than to witness a child’s success?” – Michelle L. Graham
Quotes About Teaching and Learning
109. “To teach is to learn twice over.” – Joseph Joubert
110. “In learning, you will teach, and in teaching, you will learn.” – Phil Collins
111. “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” – Albert Einstein
112. “When one teaches, two learn.” – Robert Heinlein
113. “Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.” – Paulo Coelho
114. “You can teach a person all you know, but only experience will convince him that what you say is true.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
115. “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.” – Khalil Gibran
116. “It is not what is poured into the student, but what is planted, that counts.” – E.P. Bertin
117. “Teaching is more than imparting knowledge; it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts; it is acquiring understanding.” – William Arthur Ward
118. “I have learned that, although I am a good teacher, I am a much better student, and I was blessed to learn valuable lessons from my students on a daily basis. They taught me the importance of teaching to a student—and not to a test.” – Erin Gruwell
119. “All students can learn and succeed, but not in the same way and not on the same day.” – William G. Spady
120. “It’s good to have a good teacher, but you always need a pretty good student.” – Grigor Dimitrov
Interesting Quotes About Effective and Excellent Teaching
121. “Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers.” – Josef Albers
122. “The secret of teaching is to appear to have known all your life what you just learned this morning.” – Anonymous
123. “The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterward.” – Anatole France
124. “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching.” – Aristotle
125. “You can teach a student a lesson for a day, but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” – Clay P. Bedford
126. “A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.” – Patricia Neal
Short Teacher Quotes
127. “To know how to suggest is the art of teaching.” – Henri-Frédéric Amiel
128. “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” – American proverb
129. “Without teachers, life would have no class.” – Anonymous
130. “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.” – Helen Keller
Funny and Relatable Teacher Quotes That Will Make You Laugh
131. “Teaching—the only profession where you steal things from home and bring them to work.” – Anonymous
132. “Discover wildlife! Be a teacher!” – Anonymous
133. “I can’t believe I just saw my teacher at the grocery store! I thought she lived in her classroom!” – Heidi McDonald
134. “Summer vacation is the time when parents realize teachers are grossly underpaid.” – Anonymous
135. “There are three good reasons to be a teacher—June, July, and August.” – Anonymous
136. “I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” – Khalil Gibran
Also read: Short Quotes
More Quotes About Being a Teacher
137. “A teacher is never too smart to learn from his pupils.” – Bill Bowerman
138. “A key to growing as a teacher is to keep company mainly with teachers who uplift you, whose presence inspires you and whose dedication drives you.” – Robert John Meehan
139. “As a general rule, teachers teach more by what they are than by what they say.” – Anonymous
140. “A teacher has two jobs; fill young minds with knowledge, yes, but more important, give those minds a compass so that knowledge doesn’t go to waste.” – Mr. Holland’s Opus
What Is the Most Important Lesson You’ve Learned From Your Teacher?
Teaching is the noblest profession, but it is often undervalued. Despite this reality, teachers continue to teach because their passion is to change their students’ futures.
Everyone has a unique teaching style. But, what’s important is that teachers are able to impart wisdom to their students.
Moreover, it’s rare to come across a teacher that will leave an undeniable mark in your life. So, if you meet one, don’t forget to show them your appreciation!
Which of these teacher quotes made you think of your former teachers? Please, share them with us in the comments box below.
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