What is Education?

To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks – A.A. Milne

Image courtesy S. Meyerkort

Being a teacher is more than just a job, and an education is more than just following steps on a curriculum. Many wise people have said wise things about what an education really is. As we approach the end of term, it’s an excellent time to provide a reminder of the vital role educators play in our children’s lives.

Read the Term 3 edition of School News HERE

Nine-tenths of education is encouragement – Anatole France

The foundation of every state is the education of its youth – Diogenes

Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time – Rabindranath Tagore

Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one – Malcolm Forbes

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself – John Dewy

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action – Herbert Spencer

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire – W. B. Yeats

Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another – G.K. Chesterton

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next – Abraham Lincoln

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime – Maimonides

Every day that we spend without learning something is a day lost – Beethoven

If you have knowledge, let other light their candles by it – Thomas Fuller

Working in a school, and being an educator can be a difficult job. Efforts can seem unappreciated, and it can be difficult to know if you are making a real difference. Passionate, dedicated and inspiring educators, though, are vital for our young people and society more broadly.

Educating the next generation is a team effort — everyone within the school is integral to student success, from the principal, to the tuckshop convenor, maths curriculum leader, guidance counsellor, groundskeeper, librarian and everyone in between. And education is a partnership between students, schools, families and the community. Teachers help provide that vital link connecting everything that is needed to help students thrive.

Your work is appreciated, and the rewards, though you may not always see them, are in the future you are creating for our young people.

Thank you from School News.

Shannon Meyerkort

Shannon Meyerkort is a freelance writer and the author of "Brilliant Minds: 30 Dyslexic Heroes Who Changed our World", now available in all good bookstores.