Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task. (Haim G. Ginott)

Page Toppers

• Math teachers make your life add up.
• Math teachers really count.
• Me and My Teacher
• Teachers are in a class of their own.
• Teachers are special people
• Teachers Do the "Write" Thing
• Teachers Have Class
• Teachers like you, are precious and few.
• Teachers make the grade!
• Teachers Rule
• Teaching creates all other professions
• Teaching is a work of heart
• Teaching Today Touches Tomorrow!
• This Is What a Great Teacher Looks Like:
• To Teach a Child is to Touch the Future
• To teach is to learn twice.
• To Teach is to Touch the Future

Quotes

• The art of teaching is the art of assisting in discovery.
• Behind every successful student is an exhausted teacher!
• Blessed are the teachers, for they open minds, touch hearts and share the future.
• Children are a great deal more apt to follow your lead than the way you point.
• Children love to learn, but hate to be taught.
• Discover wildlife: be a teacher!
• Example isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach. (Albert Einstein)
• For every person wishing to teach there are thirty not wanting to be taught.
• A good teacher deserves an apple. You deserve the whole tree!
• A great teacher loves teaching others to love learning.
• He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.
• He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
• History Teachers are our link with the past!
• Home, Sweet Classroom!
• I am not a teacher, but an awakener. (Robert Frost)
• I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think. (Socrates)
• I touch the future. I teach.
• I will not yell in class.
  I will not throw things.
  I will not get mad. I will be good...because I am the teacher.
• If you can count your blessings, thank a teacher!
• If you can read this, thank a teacher!
• If you have knowledge, let others light their candle by it. (Margaret Fuller)
• I'm as lucky as can be 'cause the world's greatest teacher is teaching me!
• It's sad but true...teachers have homework, too!
• Leading a child to learning's treasures,
  gives a teacher untold pleasures.
• Like all great teachers, you let me learn from my own mistakes.
• Math Teachers make your life add up!
• Math Teachers really count!
• The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. (William Arthur Ward)
• A million computers can't replace one outstanding teacher.
• No written word nor spoken plea
  Can teach our youth what they should be
  Nor all the books on all the shelves,
  It's what the teachers are themselves.
• The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without his teacher. (Elbert Hubbard)
• One good teacher outweighs a ton of books. (Chinese Proverb)
• One of the most important things a teacher can do is to send the pupil home in the afternoon liking himself just a little better than when he came in that morning. (Ernest Melby)
• Only the educated are free. (Epictetus)
• Preschool teachers enjoy the little things in life!
• Real learning begins with one good teacher.
• Science Teachers have the right chemistry!
• Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
• A special teacher is remembered forever!
• Summer vacation is the time when parents realize that teachers are grossly underpaid.
• Teach from the Heart!.
• A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. (Henry Brooks Adams)
• A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches
• a heart
• Teacher's Aide: A welcome addition!
• Teachers are angels in training.
• Teacher cannot live by apples alone...she needs 'kisses' too! (to go with a gift or Hershey's Kisses)
• Teachers change the world one child at a time.
• Teachers don't impact for a year, but for a lifetime.
• Teachers help students blossom.
• Teachers help us to learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
• Teachers make the little things count.
• Teachers plant seeds of knowledge that will grow forever.
• A teacher's purpose is not to create students in his own image, but to develop students who can create their own image.
• A teacher's task it so take a lot of live wires and make sure they are well-grounded.
• Teachers that love to teach, create kids that love to learn.
• Teachers work in classy places.
• Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best. (Bob Talbert)
• Thank you for the encourage-'mint' you gave my child. (with a gift of mints)
• Thank you for your commit-'mint' to my child's education. (with a gift of mints)
• There's no one quite like a special teacher,
  and no teacher quite as special as you.
• Three good reasons to be a teacher: June, July and August!
• Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I may not remember. Involve me and I'll understand. (Native American proverb)
• Time spent teaching is never lost.
• To learn is a blessing. To teach and do it well, it is a gift.
• To teach is to learn again.
• To waken interest and kindle enthusiasm is the sure way to teach easily and successfully. (Tyron Edwards)
• A truly special teacher is very wise,
  she sees tomorrow in every child's eyes!
• We teach what we live.
• What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased!
• When all else fails, ask a teacher!
• The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. (Anatole France)
• A wise teacher makes learning fun.
• A wise teacher teaches by example.
• The world need's more teachers like you.
• You can't scare me - I teach school!
• You can't teach every child to be a leader, but you can help children to know which leader to follow.

Preschool Teacher Sentiments Album

I am just finishing a sentiments album for my daughter's preschool teacher. I asked for a wallet-size photo and a quote "I love Ms. Cindy because..." and I put one child to a page, and a title page where I wrote, "Like flowers in a garden we have bloomed in your care" with grass and flower stickers. I decorated each page differently with a printed-paper background 4.5x6.5 and stickers on two edges. For example, one page had cranberry gingham paper and insect stickers all around the two edges (top and side)-very cute and 'kid-like'. I journaled the quotes on white paper squares I placed beside the child's picture. (cmc Memphis)

Angels Among Us

(adapted by Pam in TX)

Teachers and Angels
help us spread our wings and fly,
urge us to take risks and catch us if we stumble,
see the smallest and simplest of things as a reason to celebrate.
A Teacher's and an Angel's work is never done.

Dear Teacher,

(Eden Taylor)

Today I turn some of my little child's life over to you. It is not easy for me, because I held him so tight when he was newborn, and I taught him and he felt the love of his family.
But today a new chapter in his life begins, and for a few hours I will not be there to answer his questions, Kiss his bruises...to "save him" from some pain, but you will be there. Be kind, for he is small. He has so much to give and so much to learn.
And so for those few hours when he is yours. Remember, I held him tightly; I share his dreams, his hopes.
Give him love and help him learn. And when the day is over, send him home unharmed.

Thank you Mrs. ______ for the job that you've done.
You've enriched our lives, each and every one.
We'll think of you fondly with each passing year
As we build on the foundation that you started here.

The ABC's of Teaching

(compiled by Denny Davis)

A apple, art, arithmetic, alphabet, achievement tests, addition, algebra, ability, adjectives, adverbs, activities, appreciation
B books, bulletin boards, band, book reports, bus, blackboard, board members, birthday party
C children, crayons, chalk, classrooms, colors, consonants, computers, creative, career day, cafeteria duty, communication, conferences, conjunctions, counting, crafts, counselor
D desks, discipline, division, decorations, decisions, demonstrations, discussion, documentation, divisor, dedicated
E English, experiments, eager, eraser, effort, excited, extra-curricular, easel, education, emergency drill, encouragement, enrollment, exceptional
F field trips, fractions, fun, field day, feedback, facts, first day, fundraisers, future
G grades, glue, geography, globe, geometry, graduation, goals, grammar, gym, games, gifts, graduation, great kids, great teacher
H holidays, history, handwriting, homeroom, home economics, health, hall pass, handprints, helper, hugs
I instruction, imagination, inquisitive, intelligent, individual, interesting, important, ink
J journalism, junior high, judgment, just, job chart, June at last!
K knowledge, kickball, kindergarten, kids, kindness
L learning, lesson plans, lunch, lockers, library, loudspeaker, lab, laminating machine, language, letters, leader, listening, teacher's lounge
M math, music, microscope, multiplication, meetings, metric system, make-up test, manners, mascot, memories, mid-terms, Monday
N notable, notes, neat, nature, numbers, notebook, nouns, nap time, names
O objectives, overhead projector, observant, odds and ends, open house, obedience, office, outstanding
P parents, parties, programs, plays, P.E., playground, patience, pencils, pens papers, progress reports, principal, physics, prepositions, pronouns, painting, penmanship, perfect, pop quiz, presentations, printing, projects, pupils
Q quizzes, quality, quality time, quiet time, Quiet, please!, query, questions, quotient
R reading, report cards, reports, recess, ruler, room mother, resources, respect
S science, social studies, spelling, sports, students, subtraction, skills, Spanish, social skills, spelling bee, subjects, seminars, safety patrols, school pride, sharing, show and tell, staff, substitute, sum
T teacher, typing, tests, term papers, teacher's aide, teacher appreciation, terrific teacher, thinking, trying
U understanding, unique, uh-oh!, uncovering talents, unsurpassed, uppercase
V valuable, vowels, visual aids, verbs, very smart, videos, volunteers
W wisdom, words, writing, work days, walking, water fountain, welcome, wonder, whispers
X eXtra special, eXcellent, eXciting, eXperiences, eXtraordinary
Y yearbook, youth, yelling, yes ma'am, yippee it's Friday!, youth
Z zany, zealous, zoo trip, zest for teaching, zero, zillion reasons why I like to teach

Include the names of students, special projects, field trips, programs, etc.

One hundred years from now, it will not matter
What kind of car I drove or what kind of clothes I wore.
All that will matter is that I made a difference
In the life of a child!

(change the "I" to "you" to use in an album for a teacher or coach or day care provider)

Teacher's Album

I did this as an end of the year gift, but you can adapt it. I had taken pictures all year in the classroom. I was a homeroom mom. So, I had field trips, parties, assemblies, etc. Then I did groups of kids standing in front of the bulletin board full of flowers that they had made. I put all the pictures in a Sentiments album and had the kids all sign their names. The last pages were the groups. I put grass stickers and flowers under all the pictures and printed these words: Like Flowers in a garden, we've bloomed in your care. I put one or two words per page. My daughter's teacher cried when she got it. For Christmas, you could start an album and add to it through the year.

Teacher Album Idea

This album is a little different than usual.
We have 19 kids in the class so we chose about 20 different nursery rhymes. Each 2 page spread will have the poem on the left page and a picture of at least 1 child illustrating the poem on the right side. We will begin each poem with a sticker letter and then write the rest with the calli pen. The 4 corners will have a simple border design using stickers that go with each rhyme. We are going to organize a party and photo session for an afternoon and take all the pictures at one time. We will have each picture printed 5 x 7" and put them in an 8 x10" album. (Amy S.)

You May Be an Elementary School Teacher If...

• you ask guests if they have remembered their scarves and mittens as they leave your home
• you move your dinner partner's glass away from the edge of the table
• you ask if anyone needs to go to the bathroom as you enter a theater with a group of friends
• you hand a tissue to anyone who sneezes
• you refer to happy hour as "snack time"
• you declare "no cuts" when a shopper squeezes ahead of you in a checkout line
• you say "I like the way you did that" to the mechanic who repairs your car
• you ask "Are you sure you did your best?" to the mechanic who fails to repair your car to your satisfaction
• you sing the "Alphabet Song" to yourself as you look up a number in the phone book
• you say everything twice. I mean, you repeat everything.
• you fold your spouse's fingers over the coins as you hand him/her the money at a tollbooth
• you ask a quiet person at a party if he has something to share with the group
• If you answered yes to 4 or more, it's in your soul - you are hooked on teaching. And if you're not a teacher, you missed your calling.
• If you answered yes to 8 or more, well, maybe it's too much in your soul - you should probably begin thinking about retirement.
• If you answered yes to all 12, forget it - you'll always be a teacher, retired or not!

Real Teachers...

• buy Excedrin and Advil in bulk.
• will eat anything left in the teacher's lounge.
• grade papers in the car, during commercials, in faculty meetings, in the bathroom, and at the end of nine weeks have even been seen grading in church.
• know that sixth graders get hormones from Santa at Christmas.
• cheer when they hear that April 1st does not fall on a school day.
• drive older cars owned by credit unions.
• can't walk past a crowd of kids without straightening up the line.
• never sit down without first checking the seat of the chair.
• have disjointed necks from writing on boards without turning around.
• are written up in medical journals for the size and elasticity of their bladders.
• wear glasses from trying to read the fine print in the teacher's manuals.
• have been timed gulping down lunch in 2 minutes 18 seconds.
• can predict exactly which parents show up at open house.
• understand the importance of making sure every kid gets a Valentine.
• never teach the conjugations of "lie" and "lay" to eighth graders.
• know it is better to seek forgiveness than to ask for permission.
• can teach anatomy to high school students and not hear the giggles.
• know that the best end of semester lesson plans come from Blockbuster.
• know the shortest distance and length of travel time to the front office.
• can "sense" gum.
• know that the first class disruption they see is probably the second one that occurred.
• have their best conferences in the parking lot.
• have never heard an original excuse.
• know that secretaries and custodians really run the school.
• know that rules do not apply to them.
• give themselves away in public because of the marker smudges all over their hands.
• know that dogs are carnivores and not "homework paperavores."
• know that happy hour does indeed begin on Friday afternoons.
• do not take "no" for an answer unless it is written in a complete sentence.
• know the value of a good education and are appalled upon seeing their paychecks.
• hear the heartbeats of crisis; always have time to listen; and know they teach students, not subjects.

The Answering Machine at School

Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting the right staff member, please listen to all your options before making a selection:

• To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1
• To make excuses for why your child did not do his work - Press 2
• To complain about what we do - Press 3
• To cuss out staff members - Press 4
• To ask why you didn't get information that was already in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5
• If you want us to raise your child - Press 6
• If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7
• To request another teacher for the third time this year - Press 8
• To complain about bus transportation - Press 9
• To complain about school lunches - Press 0
• If you realize this is the real world and your child must be responsible and accountable for his/her own behavior and school work, and that it's not the teachers fault for your child's lack of effort, hang up and have a nice day!