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by Richard
Lederer -;
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 to Teacher Appreciation and made a time to
recognize members of the most unheralded, labour-intensive,
multitasking, exhausting, income-challenged, 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:
And
gladly would he learn. and gladly teach.
- Geoffrey Chaucer |
No
bubble is so iridescent or floats longer than one
blown by a beloved teacher.
- Sir William Osler |
Teaching
is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.
- Jacques Barzun |
He who opens a
school door, closes a prison.
- Victor Hugo |
The
mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.
- William Arthur Ward |
Teachers,
who educate children, deserve more honour than parents,
who merely gave them birth; for the latter - provided mere life,
while the former ensure a good life.
- Aristotle |
To
teach is to learn. again.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes |
My joy in learning
is partly that it enables me to teach.
- Seneca |
A
teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence
stops.
- Henry Adams |
To
me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching.
- George Bernard Shaw |
Speaking of
salvation, 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 reside
for eternity.
The first neighbourhood 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 float on, and the teacher sees another neighbourhood that is just
as beautiful-exquisite mansions, gorgeous grounds and lavish facilities.
Again she inquires if this is where she wi1l live, but St Peter says
it's for lawyers.
On through the clouds they drift and soon come to a third neighbourhood.
It too is exquisite, 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.
Don'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.
Back on earth, almost a half century ago, James Michener, author of Hawaii
and The Source, declined a dinner invitation at the White
House during the Eisenhower administration.
"Dear Mr. President, " Michener wrote back, "I received
your invitation three days after I had agreed to speak a few words at a
dinner honouring 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, counsellors,
coaches, traffic controllers, and baby-sitters, they march in the
company of secular saints. May their tribe thrive and multiply.
Copied with permission from the 2003 Farmers’ Almanac
Submitted by Sheri Hext
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