Jacob Abbott Quotes

It is worth while too to warn the teacher that undue severity in correcting faults is liable at times to discourage a boy's mind from effort.

That's a big deal for kids, when they come into the kitchen and the teacher is drinking coffee with mom. They react differently on the next day when you say: 'Sit down and shut-up!'

A teacher should have maximal authority, and minimal power.

What's the difference between tough love and acting like a jerk?

I like to praise and reward loudly, to blame quietly.

Indeed - judicious, consistent parenting is a dream of mine. No judgements, learning space and listening carefully are my goals.

The art of natural education consists in ignoring the faults of children nine times out of ten, in avoiding immediate interference, which is usually a mistake, and devoting one's whole vigilance to the control of the environment in which the child is growing up, to watching the education which is allowed to go on by itself.

Students rarely disappoint teachers who assure them in advance that they are doomed to failure.

Knowing his coach likes him is more important to a player than anything else. To me, it was important to be able to chew out a player for screwing up and for him to accept it because he knew I liked him anyway.

One thing I hate is people screaming at me. If you want me to do something, talk to me.

You're much better off creating positive rewards, complimenting people for acting correctly, rather than punishing them when they act incorrectly.

In mine opinion, love is fitter than fear, gentleness better than beating, to bring up a child rightly in learning.

I would never scream at my kids, never raise my voice. But as they often tell me, they were so well behaved that screaming was not necessary.

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

I am always trying to evolve, so I like to read parenting books and things like that.

I simply do not think that yelling, swearing, threatening or belittling will get you to the place you want to be faster than kindness, understanding, patience and a little willingness to compromise.

Tough love - I'm kind of weary of that. I don't think it's so effective.

I'm not a tough boss in that I don't raise my voice, I don't freak out, and I don't have a temper most of the time.

All children are born with stars in their eyes, and they are curious. It is important for teachers to be careful not to kill this curiosity. A lot can go wrong. Children can be teased, even by teachers.

Why not whip the teacher when the pupil misbehaves?

The best teachers, one hopes, don't shout at their students - because they are skilled at wooing as well as demanding the best efforts of others. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, this wooing was a sufficiently fine art in itself to be the central focus of education.

In my own life, when I was most inspired by a teacher, it always involved a real dialogue, a looseness and a real caring and compassion. It was not without rigor, not without discipline, not without standards, but all that was done out of love.

I had a high school English teacher who made me really work at writing. And once, when I got an assignment back, she'd written: 'This is so good, Andrew. This should be published!' That made a big impression on me.

If I had a personal wish for the new ideas in this new book it would be that every parent, every counselor, every teacher, every professor, every sports coach that deals with young people would understand the three circle concept.

Let's say, Yes, to kids who say, No.