Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do best.
When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Teachers share responsibility for their students' failures, reflecting on their own teaching methods and support.
In this quote, Marva Collins emphasizes the deep connection between teachers and their students' success or failure. It suggests that a teacher's role is not just to impart knowledge, but also to foster an environment where students can thrive. When students struggle, it signals that teachers must reflect on their approach, adapt their methods, and ensure they are providing the necessary support and resources for their students to succeed.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a faculty meeting, when discussing student performance, a teacher might quote, 'When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed.' to highlight the need for reflection in their teaching methods.
More from Marva Collins
All quotes βOnce children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another.
Excellence is not an act, but a habit.
When someone is taught the joy of learning, it becomes a life-long process that never stops, a process that creates a logical individual. That is the challenge and joy of teaching.
Similar quotes
A child who is protected from all controversial ideas is as vulnerable as a child who is protected from every germ. The infection, when it comes- and it will come- may overwhelm the system, be it the immune system or the belief system.
A book is an attempt to make through permanent and to contribute to the great conversation conducted by authors of the past. [β¦] The telegraph is suited only to the flashing of messages, each to be quickly replaced by a more up-to-date message. Facts push other facts into and then out of consciousness at speeds that neither permit nor require evaluation. (70)
Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids' dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.
There's a great power of imagination about these little creatures, and a creative fancy and belief that is very curious to watch . . . I am sure that horrid matter-of-fact child-rearers . . . do away with the child's most beautiful privilege. I am determined that Anny shall have a very extensive and instructive store of learning in Tom Thumbs, Jack-the-Giant-Killers, etc.
A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold, rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen, instead.
My books are like water; those of the great geniuses are wine. (Fortunately) everybody drinks water.