Teachers have one of the most difficult and least appreciated jobs existing in the world today. They are the ones responsible for most of what the next generation will know. They help determine how successful the next generation of workers will be. Without teachers, the world would, in essence, shut down. But why do teachers choose the profession they do?
A teacher takes the knowledge she or he possesses and passes it on to his or her students. Eventually, they hope they can pass all of their knowledge on to their students. They may feel rather useless when their students have learned all that they can teach them. But when they see the affect they have on these students in the future, I believe it brings them fulfillment. In that way, they are leaving a legacy which will be lived out for generations to come.
II. A student by definition doesn't know what he or she doesn't know.
Students often tend to think that they know everything. When they enter a classroom, say an English class, they often feel that there's nothing left for them to learn about English. But I have found that so often, there are so many new things out there to learn that I never even knew existed. So I have begun to take the attitude that I can learn something from every class I take. It helps me to stay more open to teacher's ideas, and makes my education, as a whole, more exciting. It's kind of like Mihaly's idea that looking forward to a specific goal will help your creativity to flow. When I look specifically for something new to learn in each class, I can find it almost every time, and I feel that the time spent in that class has been used well.
III. Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else does and thinking something different.
Often times, when everyone considers something the same way, so many aspects of the subject are left undiscovered. I try to approach everything with an open mind, no matter what others may associate with it. I find that I often am able to find out things about a subject that few others have found. Many times things, especially people, are stereotyped as being a certain type of object or person, and everyone takes these connotations to apply to every member of the group. But there is so much to find out about each individual person and/or subject. One just has to have an open mind.
IV. A university professor set an examination question in which he asked what is the difference between ignorance and apathy.The professor had to give an A+ to a student who answered: I don't know and I don't care.
Ignorance is something that everyone has. No one knows everything, therefore they are ignorant of some things. But ignorance doesn't necessarily mean stupidity. Some people just haven't had the opportunity to learn about certain subjects. They may desire to, though, and that is the key difference between ignorance and apathy. Apathetic people are perhaps well described as pathetic people. They are the ones who don't care to learn new things, but are happy and satisfied with their ignorance. Ignorance can be bliss, as they say. But I'm not satisfied with my ignorance in most aspects. Sure, there are things that I'll never have to learn about. But I enjoy having the knowledge of how things work.
V. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
Friendship is one of the things that makes life on earth bearable. For me, I think it would be impossible to live without any friends. But as I have drifted in and out of friendships, I have found that some people are true friends, and others will leave when the going gets tough. True friends are those that you can trust with anything. They'll always be there to help you whenever your life is crazy. My favorite quote, by an unknown person, is "A friend is someone that knows the song of your soul, and sings it back to you when you've forgotten the words. I am glad to say that I have many true friends, and I hope to keep these true friendships long after high school and college.
VI. Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
The best way to get rid of hate is to kill it with kindness. You can always take revenge on a person when they do something bad to you. But if you overlook that and still be kind to them, they'll find it nearly unbearable. The Bible even has a verse about this--it tells us that by being kind to our enemies, we will heap burning coals upon their heads. How descriptive! If you just get back at a person, you have not accomplished anything. If you can make a friend out of someone who didn't like you before, however, you'll probably have a friendship that will last a long time.
VII. Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
Human nature is rarely satisfied with what it already has. It wants more, more, more. People who give into this feeling are miserable. They are never content with their lives. They believe that having more stuff will make them happy, but they are never satisfied. One way to find happiness is to be glad with what you have. Remember all the blessings you do have, instead of all the things you want. Then you can be truly happy.
VIII. He who laughs, lasts.
Two things everyone longs for. Two things make life on earth bearable. These two things are laughter and love. Laughter is the best medicine there is. It can make you feel better no matter how low you are. And if someone you know is feeling down, make them laugh. They'll feel better immediately. They will eventually forget their troubles all together. In this way, he who laughs, lasts. Laughter can help make anyone's life bearable.
IX. Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
People often wonder how to make friends. It can be a touchy thing to do; you may approach the wrong person. But a sure way to make someone into your friend is to make them laugh. I don't care who you are, laughter will bring you closer to the person who made you laugh. If you want to make friends, learn to make fun of life. Learn to laugh at yourself. Don't be afraid to be a little crazy. Laughter is the quickest way for two people to become friends.
X. Learn to laugh at your troubles and you'll never run out of things to laugh at.
Every life is going to be full of trouble. It's a shame, but that's just the way life goes. So what can we do about it? As I see it, we have two choices: we can get all stressed out about our trouble, or we can laugh about it. If we do get all stressed, chances are we'll just make things worse. If we are able to laugh at our troubles, we are often able to put things in perspective, and to be able to see how to solve our problems easily. So learn to laugh at your troubles, and you will find that life will be much brighter.
XI. You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
The imagination is an interesting thing. It can fool you into thinking things are there that really are not. Many times, we see a problem, but instead of taking care of it logically, we allow ourselves to imagine the worst possible outcome. We worry and worry about it, and usually the worst possible thing happens. But it is not because it was impossible to avoid, it is because we're too busy worrying about it to take steps to avoid it. Try not to worry, and work to fix your problems instead of allowing yourself to make them bigger in your mind.
XII. If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. ~Albert Einstein
No man is a success all by himself. Behind every great accomplishment are friends and others who have helped the thing come to be. Often only one gets the credit, but what is one person by themselves? Nothing. Without teachers, we learn nothing. Without friends, we do not experience life's many facets. Remember to rely on your friends, teachers, parents, and anyone else who has an impact on your life. Remember that without these people, you would be nothing. Because of them, you can do whatever you set your mind to.
XIII. Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions.
There are problems in everyone's life. Most problems can be fixed. But so often we are reluctant to fix them. Why? We do not want to risk something new in order to fix our problems. There is another saying: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." How true this is. Don't be afraid to take risks; if you do, you will not get anywhere in life.
XIV. Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Imagination is a powerful thing. We can have all the knowledge in the world, but if we have no imagination, we cannot apply that knowledge in a useful way. If you have a great imagination, even if you have little knowledge, you can do almost anything. Picture a child: give him a few building blocks to play with, and he can create a fascinating structure. He has no knowledge of architecture, but he has an imagination. With imagination, any goal becomes reachable.
XV. The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out.
The human race is strange in its ways. Perhaps its biggest quirk is that people believe violence will solve problems. While occasionally it does work, you will find that more times than not, talking over a situation rather than fighting over it will solve your problem with the least trouble. When you throw the first punch, however, things go entirely out of control. Your problems are probably going to increase rather than decrease. Solve your problems logically, not with violence.