1. The document discusses 11 excellent qualities that teachers and parents use to motivate, inspire, and educate children. These qualities include enthusiasm, adventure, creativity, reflection, balance, compassion, confidence, humor, common sense, appreciation, and resilience. 2. It emphasizes that passion is the most important quality, as it is what drives teachers to teach and parents to devote their lives to raising children. Passion is the fire in the heart and determination to make a difference. 3. The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows, meaning to help children see beyond themselves to learn about the world.

2. THE EXCELLENT 11 By the award winning teacher Ron Clark Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children

3. 1. ENTHUSIASM Your enthusiasm will be infectious, stimulating, and attractive to others. They will love you for it. They will go for you and with you. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) LIST THIS QUALITY FIRST for a reason. Nothing is more important than having enthusiasm. Students will be excited about learning a lesson if you are eager and excited about teaching it.

4. 2. ADVENTURE Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1965) TOO MANY STUDENTS ARE sitting in classrooms day after day, watching the clock and feeling bored. These same students at home are sitting on the couch and staring at the TV. As teachers we must find a way to get students motivated and excited about something in their lives.

5. 3. CREATIVITY The man who has no imagination has no wings. Muhammad Ali THE BEST TEACHERS ARE the ones who are able to think outside the box and put themselves in the mind-set of the children they teach. They are able to find works, and they are willing to try many different techniques until they discover the best solution to helping their children to learn.

6. 4. REFLECTION By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is bitterest. Conficious (C.551-479 B.C.) FOR YEARS CHILDREN HAVE marked their height on the kitchen wall to track their growth. It’s important however, for children to be able to see how they have grown and improved in all areas, not just their height. Learning from our mistakes and holding on to our memories help us become deeper individual with a better sense of who we are and how we choose to live our lives.

7. 5. BALANCE There is time for everything. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) WE LIVE IN A BUSY WORLD, with most of us juggling our family with work, friends, work, exercise, work, bills, emails, and work. It is difficult for us, but our children don’t have it easy, either. They are trying to keep up their grades, play sports, be involved with clubs, make friends and fit in, complete their homework, clean their rooms, do their chores, and stay out of troubles. Many of us aren’t taking the time and relax and find a way to create a reasonable balance. When we aren’t able to find a good balance for all we have on our plates, our children are usually the ones who suffer.

8. 6. COMPASSION An understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. Carl Jung (1875-1961) MORE AND MORE IT SEEMS that compassion is missing from our society, and many children are growing up with a lack of consideration for others. It is important that all of us treat others with compassion, consideration, and generosity, especially children. When we show kindness to a child, we are doing more than passing a good deed. We are building a vision in the eyes of that child of how others should be treated.

9. 7. CONFIDENCE Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right. Henry Ford (1863-1947) HALF OF THE BATTLE in raising kids is teaching them to be confident. Anyone who has ever been successful had to take some risks and experience adversity along the way. In order to face those challenges, children need to have confidence to feel that they can and will be successful. Experience leads to confidence. The more children experience a certain situation, the more they are going to become able to handle themselves successfully.

10. 8. HUMOUR The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. E.E. Cummings (1894-1962) LAUGHTER IS UNIVERSAL. When we laugh we connect with each other in ways that help us relate, understand each other, and feel comfortable in any situation. When present in the learning environment, the joy and delight that come with humour can be powerful tools when getting students to put forth effort and achieve at the highest levels.

11. 9. COMMON SENSE The freethinking of one age is the common sense of the next. Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) Teachers need not only to have common sense but to take the time with children to develop skills with them that others see as obvious. The number one thing teachers can do to positively affect the lives of our students is to become more aware of the way we speak to them. It seem that many of us don’t realize how powerful our words can be. Children see themselves reflected in our eyes, and if we are constantly saying things like ‘You are so disrespectful’ or ‘You are so rude’ they will begin to believe it.

12. 10. APPRECIATION As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US as teachers to show appreciation and also to get our students to understand the importance of being appreciative. Everyday parents place their trust in us that we are going to guide, support, and educate their children in a way that lifts them up and helps then become better people. That is a big responsibility, and we should not take it lightly. We should approach teaching as a gift, a privilege, and an occupation that we are honoured to have.

13. 11. RESILIENCE The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy. Martin Luther King, JR (1929-1968) THERE IS NO GREATER JOB in the world than raising a child. It is also, unfortunately, one of the most difficult tasks anyone can ever undertake. Teachers must remember that when times are rough and difficulties arise through the learning and growing process, we have to stand strong and remain committed to doing whatever is necessary to raise our children with optimism, understanding, and love

14. OF ALL OF THE WONDERFUL qualities that were mentioned, no word better personifies a teacher than the word passion Passion is why teachers teach and why parents devote their lives to raising their children. It is the fire in our hearts and the determination in our minds to make a difference.