Shawn L. Bird

The pupil can only educate himself. Teachers are the custodians of apparatus upon which he himself must turn and twist to acquire the excellencies that distinguish the better from the poorer of God’s vessels. ~Martin H. Fischer

As we start a new semester next week, I’ve been thinking about education.  I liked this quote, because it places the onus on the student.  A teacher is indeed simply the guardian of the skills and strategies in assorted proficiencies, but it is only the student himself who can absorb, apply, consider, evaluate and in the end, learn.  A teacher can inspire.  A teacher can model life-long learning.  A teacher can value the learner and encourage confidence, but at the end of the day, the only one who can do the learning is the student.

Let’s hope we have a great second semester!