Five inspirational educational quotes

Working in Education is not an easy job. Every day is different because not all children are the same. Each child is an individual with different levels of needs and abilities and they require support in order for them to learn and progress. In this blog, I have chosen some educational quotes and wanted to discuss what they mean to me.

Most children spend the majority of their time at nursery or at school rather than at home so therefore are always learning and practising new skills, however George Santayana says "A child educated only at school is an uneducated child". I chose this quote because wherever a child goes, they learn something. It could be something someone around them has said or done; the child will remember this. I believe children need to have the opportunity to explore the world around them in different environments and try new things, especially outside of the classroom. Education does not stop when they leave the classroom or nursery door; learning should happen at home with other family members all the time.

By the time a child is five years old, they have already developed 95% of the skills and knowledge they need for life. To ensure children are aware of the different boundaries in life, it is important that adults act as positive role models for children from a young age because children will imitate the same behaviour. James Baldwin says: "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders. But they have never failed to imitate them". The reason I chose this quote is because children will not always listen to what an adult says or tells them to do, however, I do believe that if an adult was to act in a certain way the child will think this is acceptable and will therefore imitate this behaviour. For example, if you always use good manners, the child will begin to imitate this behaviour as they have seen their role model (you) do. They will begin to develop manners and if they want something they'll say 'please' and when it is handed to them, they will say 'thank you'. Manners cost nothing and teaching children while young will help them grow and be respectful.

All children have different abilities and may not all achieve the same goal at the same time; this is perfectly fine. Children have different strengths and weaknesses in all areas of development so may achieve some skills quicker in one area of development than another. Children will make mistakes when they are learning, encouragement to keep trying should be given so that they do not give up. John Hersey has a very inspirational quote that I like: "Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education". If a child does not achieve something first time, they need to keep on trying maybe with support from an adult, until they achieve this goal. Once children achieve their goal, they feel proud and want to carry on trying new things to develop new skills. This is how children learn and their cognitive skills develop. Children will then want to show off their new skills and may show it to their peers and help them achieve the same.

When playing, children like to get all the toys out at once and getting messy and should be given the opportunity to do this, this is how they learn. Having different toys out lets children use their imagination by bringing multiple toys into their play. Children should be able to have more than one activity out at a time to progress different areas of development. This is children learning and "Children just need the time, the space and the permission to be kids" says Angela Hanscom. Children are not young forever, giving them the opportunity to play and learn at their own pace and at their own time is important. Being a child is about exploring different activities and getting dirty, that is what makes play fun for children.

The final quote I chose is from Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." If people want to progress and reach the goals they want to in their career, education is the way forward. This is a very strong quote from Mandela, as people may think that education only happens at a young age, but it definitely does not. You can go back into education later on in life, no matter your age; it can help you progress and move up the ladder to achieve that dream goal.